


2000 Miles

by OmACAgee



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Long-Distance Friendship, Long-Distance Relationship, angst in future chaps, text conversations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 19:26:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 236,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7696414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmACAgee/pseuds/OmACAgee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rising DJ internet sensation Beca Mitchell might so happen to fall in love with a cute, bubbly redhead fan of her's who's the ideal perfect girl. Problem is though, they live on opposite sides of the country with only technology keeping them in contact. Will their relationship last without the physical contact? Or will only talking through the phone not be good enough. Bechloe LDR AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Follower

**Author's Note:**

> This is a catfish kinda set up, though nothing like the show. Long Distance AU with lots of fluff and Bechloe nonsense. Later in chapters there will also be a mention of a possible Staubrey :)  
> Also posted (originally) ff.net

Beca Mitchell isn't just a name that doesn't go unnoticed.

Today, being Youtube's DJ extraordinaire with millions of mixes she would muster up to perfection and upload it for her thousands of followers on twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to download, she was talked about _a lot_. Her name was one that was out there for sure, and was definitely the kick start for her life long career as a music producer but still, it wasn't where she would like it to be.

Beca wasn't always a well known DJ who made kick ass remixes that deserved to be on an iTunes top 20 workout playlist. Actually, back when Myspace was still popular and she would upload her remixes of trending pop songs that would get zero attention daily, she soon realized that once she chose the profession she wanted to pursue, it wasn't that easy getting her name out there like she thought it would be. But Beca wasn't a quitter, especially with something she is super passionate about. So after years of tough criticism from 'fans' who would love one song, but absolutely hate another, and those fucking haters that would literally comment irrelevant shit on her page about things that didn't even matter like, 'why do you wear so much eyeliner' or Beca's favorite, the anonymous perverts who would comment, 'I'm only here for the tits,' she finally got noticed when people started sharing and downloading her music on their pages.

The feeling was at first weird. Weird and sort of _stalkerish_ to see someone else share her post and comment to their friends and family to check out this girl's sick remix of Taylor Swift's newest single. That girl being Beca, of course.

And soon, she was getting follows after follows and handful of likes from people out of state and people she didn't even know. Hell, people from out of the damn country were starting to follow her and if that doesn't slap someone in the face with realism, nothing will.

It was truly amazing how far she has come.

This all started in a small town's high school in Portland Oregon where she graduated with mostly B's and a newly inherited skill of procrastination that she mastered unintentionally. Maybe there was a “C” here and there on her transcripts but let's face it, Calculus is fucking **hard** and anybody that passes with an “A” let alone “B” is some type of extraterrestrial freak of nature-though her best friend would highly disagree and tell her to spend more time studying the material instead of preparing for her next rave.

Beca's present best friend and also roommate at the moment, the one and only Stacie Conrad.

America's Next Top Model with the brain of Einstein and a pair of tits that would put Katy Perry's to shame. They've been friends since middle school when, for some reason, Stacie was highly intrigued by the brunette's lack of social communication and moody exterior and decided to walk right into Beca's bubble with her daddy long legs that still to this day go on for miles. Also, it was nice having her big brain around when it came time to actually do school work and after talking to the girl through cafeteria lunch dates and in between classes, Beca found out that they have pretty similar music taste-which is a signed contract for a life of friendship with Beca Mitchell.

And it was Stacie who encouraged Beca to make music after hearing all the knowledge the girl had for the specific area and for Beca's birthday during their freshman year of high school, she was the very first person to ever get the DJ her very own software to start remixing her playlists for real.

That was after swearing that Stacie would _**always**_ be the first to listen to her new stuff when she finished editing and that when Beca became all big and famous-with her bathtub full of hundred dollar bills-she wouldn't forget about her friend while she's off being a mad scientist down in some foreign country.

Even if Beca wanted to forget the girl, she wouldn't be able to. They're basically inseparable. So, she sealed the deal with a pinky promise and a kiss to finish.

After graduating with the class of '12, both of them applied for UCLA where Beca would major in music with an emphasis in Business since that always looks good on a resume when applying for jobs and as for Stacie, she would ruin her life with the pick of majoring in biophysics. And with Stacie's ropes her family had with basically growing up and knowing the college's dean from way back, they breezed right in.

Well, almost breezed right in.

Warren, Beca's father, wasn't always the most supportive with Beca's music-as he would always say what she wanted to do wasn't a real profession and more so a hobby than anything-though, he did start paying more attention to Beca once she began to get noticed.

Asshole.

Her mom however, before she died when Beca was just entering her sophomore year of highschool, just _**knew**_ she was going to do something big in the music industry. She loved how her daughter was so fascinated by beats and could tell by just looking at the way her fingers would work so incredibly fast across a DJ deck she bought for her at Christmas that she was special. That she had a special gift, a gift of a musician's ear that would only take her above and beyond.

" _No matter what get's in your way Beca-whether it's the harsh comments about what rubbish your music is, the people who want to drag you down and don't want you to succeed and even the people that are jealous of your skills. Don't let them break you down. You have so much talent in one body it's almost terrifying, especially_ _ **when**_ _you make it to the big leagues and all that talent will transform into a threat as things become more competitive than ever before. But Beca, never give up. Jump and tackle every obstacle in your way and follow your dreams no matter what."_

This is the one thing Beca remembers the most about her mom, and whenever she feels like giving up; or simply just surrendering to her father, these words, her mother's words, get repeated through her head and when that happens, there is absolutely no way she is bowing down.

That leaves us to today. The start of Beca's and Stacie's senior year of college where they are setting up their new apartment off campus that the both of them have been saving up with the summer jobs they had previously. Beca pulls up to the parking space that specifically is label 8C-which is also the number of their newly owned and very first California apartment together.

"This place is even sweeter than the first time we checked it out at the end of last year, Becs." Stacie admires with a sparkle in her eye the lightly tan and charcoal gray walls that seemed to be smoothed out clay and the endless amount of planted palm trees surrounding the railings that enter into the apartments.

Beca takes the key out of her ignition, nodding her head to agree because Stacie is right. The place is absolutely beautiful and it almost puts her into shock when she concludes that one of these luxurious apartments is under their name.

 _Her_ own name.

It's strange, but the feeling is indescribable and it makes her feel like an adult. A proud _adult_ that is actually getting by in life, but it's also scary in a way. It's just one step closer to her future and there's still many doubts, just like any other, whether she can make it or not.

Stacie seems to be rambling about something regarding the pool and Beca thinks she heard the taller girl say something about christening the place by skinny dipping but doesn't know for sure since her focus was wrapped deep in her thoughts.

"You down?" Stacie is staring at her with hopeful eyes that have a tint of mischievousness layering them and Beca doesn't want to just come out and say she wasn't exactly listening to a single word Stacie was saying so instead, she nods her head, agreeing to whatever nonsense Stacie was planning for them which can only go two ways.

Bad or **extremely** bad

"Sweet!" Stacie claps excitedly with an anxious grin and moves ridiculously fast out of the car to start grabbing boxes from the back. Beca is almost positive majority of them are clothes and heels. Girl has a mall as a closet. "Let's hurry up and get unpacked so I have time to get ready. You know the hunter doesn't like to wait for anyone."

Beca knows Stacie is referring to her womanhood when she says 'the hunter' and it leaves her stunned in the driver's seat, under a parking garage as she watches the taller girl skip up the stairs with her hands full of large boxes.

And God.

What did Beca just agree to?

* * *

Unpacking roughly only takes them a couple of hours-surprisingly with the amount of useless shit they both had combined. And since before they got there, Stacie's brother and friends from his fraternity helped move in all the furniture Beca and Stacie picked out from a Ikea department nearby, that cut their process by like half.

Go Omega Sigma Tau or like... whatever.

Beca agrees to take the room with less windows since Stacie loved the view of the city and had a bigger walk in closet; Beca just hated the amount of brightness that shines through when she is trying to sleep (sleeping till noon everyday isn't a crime) and didn't have as large of outfit options compared to Stacie. The only thing Beca really cared about was a big enough area for her equipment and a room that she would be able to listen to music without disturbing neighbors or anyone else in the apartment.

She organizes everything around her room to the way she likes it, her turntables, laptop, desk speakers other fancy technology she has spent a life savings on and decides to help Stacie unbox kitchen supplies downstairs to finish up the place.

Turns out, Beca agreed to a night out in Los Angeles since they're officially moved into their apartment and in Stacie's words, "about to be domesticated as _fuck_ ," so it's destined to get shit faced before classes-which start on Monday, two days from now. Beca is actually relieved when she see's her friend starting to curl her hair and begins to get dressed in tonight's choice of outfit because if she was being honest, she really didn't want to skinny dip in the pool, not knowing who was watching them. So that was some weight lifted off her shoulders.

She begins to get ready as well, dressed in her daily ripped skinny jeans and flannel to match before the both of them headed out for a night's worth of adventures that have endless possibilities of how it could turn out. The club they ended up deciding on was an all time favorite of theirs-where majority of the time spent at UCLA took place when cramming for finals became too much and they needed some sort of stress reliever pronto before endless equations and essays would be the death of them.

Many people from school were there tonight coincidentally, including Amy who was a close friend to the girls as well as, Cynthia Rose. They all met their freshman year during orientation and Beca couldn't help but be highly fascinated with Amy's blunt personality and headstrong self esteem. For Christ sakes, the girl called herself Fat Amy for the hell of it as if it were written on her birth certificate.

Who wouldn't want to be friends with a girl like that?

Also, Beca is almost certain that Cynthia Rose and Stacie had some sort of fling in the past that only gets denied when asking about it. At least it wasn't awkward between the two of them and actually, whatever it was that they did, (Beca will never know) bonded them closer than they ever have before and they act as if nothing even happened.

Luke, a buddy Beca met through an internship at UCLA's radio station and turns out was also a big fan of Beca's music was there at the club as well. He even gave her the stage to play some of her newest music for everyone in the club to listen to and of course, Beca agreed with not even a twist to her arm. Performing was electrifying. Like the vein in her arm was just shot up with a gallon of adrenaline that physically made it feel like her heart was seconds away from bursting out of her chest. Performing for the cheering fans around town, from school, close friends like Stacie, Cynthia and Amy while they danced like they've never danced before. It was what she lived for and something that made her feel-just for the moment- that she actually _made it_.

The night ended far too soon-not what their livers were saying- as the club's door shut at around two o'clock in the morning, but Beca couldn't help but feel a wave of relief as she thought about how great she was going to sleep tonight under her apartment's new roof. Plus, she doesn't have anything to do tomorrow so she can literally spend the day relaxing in her bed, eating junk food until she feels sick, even binge watch TV shows on Netflix till the sun goes down and that thought right there is the one that's most exciting to her.

How sad it that?

She says her goodbyes to Amy and Cynthia-well kinda Amy. She is pretty drunk and is barely standing up straight so as for as a proper goodbye, she settles on a few slurred words that sound like plain gibberish and wave off her friends as they get into a called taxi. She watches Stacie talk to some guy that she isn't really familiar with but knows he attends the same school. Stacie on the other hand, though, is very familiar with the random guy, especially his mouth as they play tongue hockey in a creepy alleyway until Stacie leaves the boy in the dust with a wave over her shoulder and he is staring cold into the distance.

"You ready to go?" Despite her previous actions, Stacie seems to be well balanced and someone who doesn't actually look like she just got done participating in a heavy make out session with some random guy as she throws her arm around Beca's shoulder to start walking back to their apartment.

Beca only rolls her eyes with a smile because Stacie talks all this nonsense about sex and how much she loves sex, but does she actually take part in it? No, and that's one thing Beca loves about Stacie. There's no question to how unbelievably _hot_ Stacie is and if Beca had a body similar to Stacie's, she'd be hitting everything in sight.

But Stacie, she has respect for herself and would never just go home with random guys and have sex with them. She'll tease, dance provocatively with them, maybe even make out with the guy, but as far as _sex_? Hard pass. Sleazy ain't cute, let alone a smart thing to do.

And Stacie is _**all**_ about being smart.

They make it to the apartment pretty late when Beca discovers that Stacie has actually had a lot more alcohol than her body can handle when she smells the tequila radiating from her pores. Beca stumbles inside the dark room, not so gracefully, carrying the dead weight Stacie in her arms after unlocking the door and drags her into the girl's room so she could get some much needed rest.

She digs through the bathroom's cabinet-things still being a little disorganized, and pours some ibuprofen into the palm of her hand when she finally finds the bottle to set up Stacie's hangover cure on the top of the girl's table next to her bed so she has it in the morning. One thing Beca doesn't want to deal with and has learned in the past that a hungover Stacie is like worse than Godzilla, Hitler and a whining baby put together.

After making sure Stacie changed into proper sleeping clothes, brushed her teeth and took out her contacts, Beca finds her friend passed out, face first in her pillows with rumbled vibration that only turns out to be Stacie snoring. She shakes her head with a laugh as she sees a pool of drool slipping from the corner of the sleeping girl's mouth before flipping off the light and closing the door.

As tired as she was when she left the club, she now for the life of her can't seem to fall asleep. She decides that trying to fall asleep is pretty much pointless at this time with the new sudden burst of energy she now has so, she heads to her desk and flips open her laptop.

Maybe checking social media for a bit will put her to bed and if that doesn't, she can finish up her latest mix.

* * *

Beca is tempted to pull an all nighter as she finishes her mix at roughly around five in the morning and doesn't want her sleeping schedule to get messed up if she goes to sleep now and hibernates all day. What a waste that would be. Sleeping all day when she can set up more furniture around the apartment or do literally anything that is more productive than taking a day long snooze like she's nocturnal.

She makes sure to save a copy of her mix into a folder labeled under her music before she uploads it to her YouTube channel. Once it's done uploading on the meter, she labels the song 'Titanium/Bulletproof Mashup' and copies all her links to her Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram into the description below. These were two very catchy songs and having a talent for picking out matching beats per minute, she knew instantly they'd mash perfectly together.

A green flag appears at the top of the page, notifying Beca that her video was posted successfully and when she sees the confirmation, she decides that some caffeine is much needed if she was planning on staying up all night and in the fridge downstairs, she has endless amounts of red bulls that are calling her name.

The walk down the stairs to get to the kitchen is exhausting by itself, almost enough to cause Beca to not even move from her spot in her room. Who in the right mind built an apartment with two levels?

Fighting her laziness, she opens the fridge and takes out a can of Red Bull before walking back up to her room. Cranking open the tab, Beca takes a long and heavy gulp that burns her throat on the way down but is refreshing when the sting fades. She flops onto her bed and immediately grabs her phone to read the list of notifications flashing through her lit screen.

Almost five minutes after uploading her song, she already receives a handful of likes and sweet comments to go with it. She is surprised at how many people were actually up at this time of night-well morning- and figures that her song wouldn't really be noticed until the morning. But being wrong, the song was blowing up and blowing up _fast_.

She clicks out of YouTube for a bit and starts to check up on her other accounts, Facebook isn't anything but game invites from friends and oh look, Warren shared another post of Beca's music onto his page.

"This is amazing, Beca. I'm so very proud of you. Everyone, check out this new song!"

 _How pathetic._ Beca thinks as she reads her dad's repost on his wall and fights the urge to block him so he doesn't see how successful she has become throughout the years. And why did he feel the need to repost everything that she has done?

Especially this late. 

She hasn't talked to him since she booked her plane ticket for Los Angeles when she was moving out here for college so why did he think they are on good terms? Where was he when no one knew about her music huh? Oh, that's right, nowhere because he didn't believe in her.

She chooses to exit out of Facebook since she was getting angrier by the second seeing her father's profile and hurries to click on Instagram. Here, there isn't anything interesting really or stuff she hasn't already liked so it doesn't last for long until she is switching again and this time, she switches over to Tumblr. Here is were she likes to post her music first, not only because of her large and increasing fan base but also, she is friends with a lot of people on this site and trusts them for their honest opinions.

Nothing but positive reviews so far flood her dash and inbox, it only being like four since it's still pretty early but still, it's kinda awesome to read all the kind words.

Just as she was getting ready to shut off her device while her phone went off with notifications, maybe watch some TV and just end up falling asleep since the Red Bull was doing absolutely nothing, she sees a little number 1 pop up on her laptop, just above the mail icon as she is getting up to grab her remote.

Usually she doesn't get a lot of personal messages through Tumblr, usually she just gets a lot of reblogs and likes so this catches her since it's still a time before the sun rises. Who is literally up this early? Sitting down in her computer chair, she clicks on her inbox which soon opens up to a briefly short message written from a girl under the username 'Bella4lyfe'.

”Interesting,” Beca comments on the username while clicking into the message anyways. 

_Hi! You totes probably get like a bazzzzillionnn of messages everyday with being the great DJ you truly are, but I couldn't stop myself when I heard your new recent mix. First off, IT'S AMAZING! And I like, just downloaded it from your page so I could add it to my ipod-which is filled with basically all of your others for when I work out. Maybe that's a little creepy and I'm almost certain that I was the first one to download it once I got the notification that you uploaded something new. What's also creepy is that I set up notifications on multiple profiles of your's and that I'm here writing this, informing you about it currently…...so just like….forget I said anything at all._

_Anyways! I just wanted to say that I'm a really big fan of yours, have been since your Pussycat Dolls and Nsync mashup you made like a wayyy long time ago! That was pretty much my anthem throughout high school :)_

_I really look forward to hearing some more of your brilliant music and I hope you have a wonderful day!_

_Xoxo,_

_Chloe Beale._

"Oh wow," Beca can tell by the message that already this girl is full of excitement and already has a mouth on her.

Not in a bad way, of course. Not at all. A way that Beca isn't really too familiar with as she is either by herself majority of the time or with Stacie, who for the most part is pretty laid back and chill. This behavior though sparks curiosity for some reason in Beca and leaves her wanting more. She hears from a lot of her fans all the time. Why and what about this Chloe girl is so different from the rest of them? Is it because it showed how big a fan she really was when she commented on Beca's very first mashup? She shakes her head in the memory as she remembers how awful the mash up turned out to be compared to the ones she makes now. The tracks were obviously cut rough and the bassline was whack.

Thank God for experience and how she got better and better every year.

Is it because of her bubbling personality that practically oozed out of Beca's laptop screen and dripped down onto her keyboard? She honestly doesn't know why this girl is so intriguing yet, Beca doesn't even know her. But the best way to learn about someone is to creep-which is where Beca found herself moments later as she clicked onto the girl's profile next to the sent message.

Almost immediately after loading, Beca's eyes get bombarded with an unholy amount of puppies on her blog as well as a bunch of other pictures that scream girly. All the pink font on her page is almost too bright to even read, so Beca doesn't even try and instead, looks at the photos set up in a collage. They often say you can judge a person by their Tumblr reblogs and if that were true, Chloe would be an all around animal lover, who enjoys to spend her time raving with every color glow stick possible while occasionally singing in some acapella group called the Bellas.

That explains the username now.

Beca has enough and honestly just wants to see a picture of what the girl looks like since she couldn't really see in her Tumblr pic. She closes out of Tumblr, not before she follows the girl first and clicks over to Instagram, knowing there would be endless amounts of photos on this girl.

So she hopes.

She also prays that her profile isn't private either. Thank you Instagram for making stalking on people literally impossible without following them first.

And though that wouldn't be a problem since Beca one, already followed Chloe on Tumblr and two, follows a lot of her fans anyways, she still just wanted to see all the photos first before clicking on the follow button. Luckily for her, Chloe's profile isn't private and has almost a thousand photos for Beca to scroll down.

Well first, besides her obvious love for photography, Beca is slapped sideways, upside down, all around in every direction at how ridiculously beautiful this girl truly is. With her long, fiery red hair, a smile that could light up the darkest room and God, don't even get Beca started about how blue her eyes are.

It hurt Beca's chest staring at something that looked so alluring. Honestly, how could one person look this amazing in almost everything that she wears? Whether it was a photo of Chloe in pajamas, hair up in a messy bun, glasses and eating ice cream from a container, captioning the picture, 'lazy day,' or a simple selfie with perfect lighting, her hair in loose curls and her big blue eyes staring deep into the camera, Chloe is absolutely jaw dropping.

Her description reads,

" _Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe, and have faith that everything will work out for the best."_

Beca should've expected a life quote similar to this one with the information she already picked up from Chloe's Tumblr page. Also the amount of different emojis that absolutely make no sense at all when describing this quote.

She scrolls almost down to the end of Chloe's photos when she realizes that she needs to stop this instant before she starts to feel like she is now the creepy one. As she flicks her way back to the top, a single photo stops her mid scroll when she sees Chloe in a bikini at some beach with her friends. Having a teenage boy's mindset and eyes that clearly see a good amount of cleavage, Beca doesn't even flinch when clicking on the certain photo.

When the photo uploads, Beca admires how great of shape Chloe seemed to be in. It was obvious that the girl took great care of her body and her abs, quads and biceps were highlighted to prove that observation correct. Her eyes gravitates to a new area, most specifically Chloe's bikini top and clears her throat nervously when she catches that she has been staring at that area for a solid five minutes.

Feeling dirty and sort of pervy-though Chloe wouldn't have uploaded it in the first place if she doesn't want anyone staring- Beca has no other choice but to follow Chloe on Instagram, as well. The blue quickly turns to green as it shows that Beca Mitchell is now following this girl.

With the new anticipation that floods Beca's insides for some unknown reason, she fights the urge to maybe message Chloe back on Tumblr, but the sudden nerves start to surface once she thinks about what to type. Does she DM her, or does she post on her wall? Beca hovers more to the messaging rather than a simple post that could mean anything.

The blinking cursor on a blank message hypnotizes Beca when she stares, lip in between her teeth as her eyebrows are furrowed and seriously, all she has to type is a thank you. Thanks for supporting her music and get on with her life. But no. She is overthinking this whole idea like she does for everything else in her life.

Time ticks away as Beca contemplates what to respond with and after all that hard thinking, she settles on three simple words.

_**Saturday August 20, 5:34 AM** _

**B: Hey, what's up?**

What was she in middle school? God, after all that time thinking about the right thing to say, she decides on, 'hey what's up?" She is _pathetic_ , and tries to search for any possible way to cancel the message before it's sent out to the redhead.

But with no cancel button for dumbasses, the message was sent.

She slams her laptop shut, embarrassed at how she was acting and slams her head back down into her pile of pillows on her bed. A loud 'thump' echoed the room with a few strangled huffs as Beca retrieves her cell phone from the nightstand.

Maybe if she listens to some soothing music online, she can doze herself off to sleep so she can forget about this whole Chloe incident that just previously happened.

As she unrolls the cord from her beats and plugs it into her phone, she feels a vibration through her hand and sees that it is from Chloe. She first notes how quickly the girl responded. Second, she notes that it literally only took three minutes before she got a response. Beca was almost certain that she wouldn't hear from her until later today and hoped that she would at least have some time to regain herself after the stunt she just pulled. She also feels a wave of relief as she sees Chloe's name light up on her message board and that she didn't scare the girl away with her awkwardness.

She continues to plug in her headphones and hits shuffle on her music library before opening Chloe's message. It will at least distract her for the conversation she is about to have, crossing her fingers that it is a long one.

_C: Omg….omg omg omg! Wow….hey! :D I'm pretty sure I'm hyperventilating but I'm not sure….._

**B: Why would you be doing such a thing? Should I call 911 or….?**

_C: Because maybe the one and only Beca Mitchell just DM'd me! Is this a spam?_

**B: No it is not a spam and really, I'm just a regular person like you**

_C: Oh yeah sure, a regular person who just happens to be an amazing artist! As far as I can remember, I can't even make a video on snapchat properly let alone create this masterpiece on a laptop like you can so no, you're not a regular person like me_

**B: Thank you but you're too sweet. I'm just someone who stumbled upon a gorgeous girl and couldn't for the life of them get away without responding back.**

**B: Oh God, that sounded way too cheesy. Forget I sent that...**

_C: So you don't think I'm gorgeous? :( I'm a little sad now._

**B: No no! You're definitely gorgeous that's for sure. Probably the prettiest girl I've ever seen.**

**B: Not that I'm only messaging you to get at you, that's not the case at all.**

**B: ...Shit this is awkward.**

_C: Don't worry lol I'm totally just busting your buttons :) Thank you though for the compliment :)_

_C: So, was that the only reason why you messaged me or was there something else?_

_C: Not to sound rude or anything! I just, you have a lot of followers and probably get a lot of messages from fans all the time, so why me? I am flattered, though._

**B: Well first I wanted to say thanks for the feedback on my song I just posted. Then I don't know really. Maybe just like talk...or whatever. Get to know each other.**

**B: And for followers, I've seen your Instagram Ms. Popular so that excuse doesn't work.**

_C: Stalking me already? ;)_

**B: Definitely not**

_C: Surrrreeee ;) but duh. All your songs are amazing but this one, has to be my favorite :)_

_C: So what, you wanna play twenty questions like we are back in high school? ;) What better way of getting to know each other than twenty questions._

**B: Uhh sure. I think I know how this game works.**

C: It's twenty questions, what's not to get? Lol You ask a question and the other person answers then, you have to answer your own question.

**B: Okay okay I get it haha. You go first.**

_C: Nice try ;) I suggested the icebreaker now you get to start it._

_C: It was YOUR idea to get to know each other now wasn't it? ;)_

**B: Okay fine. Why do you use so many emojis?**

_C: Tsk, I expected a better question than that coming from you…._

_C: And to answer your question, it adds emotion to a text, something you clearly lack…. ;)_

**B: :-)**

**B: :-D**

**B: :-(**

**B: ;-)**

**B: Is that better? :-) :-) :-)**

_C: Sarcasm already and I barely even know you? Ballsy Ms. Mitchell ;)_

**B: You'll soon learn that sarcasm is basically my middle name.**

**B: Which reminds me, your turn.**

**B: Ms. Beale…**

_C: When is your birthday and how old are you?_

**B: November 5th and 23**

_C: July 22 and just turned 27 :)_

**B: Happy late birthday!**

**B: I saw some pictures you posted from school, what did you major in?**

_C: Thank you! :)_

_C: And I majored in music education and got my bachelor's degree until I student taught for a year and went off to get my masters, which I'm still currently working on :)_

**B: Oh wow, that's pretty neat. Congrats**

**B: I'm majoring in music as well here at UCLA and hope to be able to get my sounds out to record companies so I can find an internship.**

_C: Oh you'll be heard in no time. And if not, screw them. Your music totes rocks! :)_

**B: Thanks Chloe :-)**

_C: What's your favorite color?_

_C: Besides black since that's basically all you wear ;)_

**B: Whoa. Look who is stalking now?**

**B: And blue to answer your question.**

_C: NOT stalking but simply just observing ;) mine is green!_

**B: Cool. Speaking of blue, I didn't mention how pretty your eyes are.**

_C: Well Beca, I could go on an endless list of things to compliment you on, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear nor have the time :) As for eyes, mine don't even come close to yours._

**B: Ha! Yeah right. Have you looked in a mirror?**

_C: Have YOU? Clearly not since we are having this discussion!_

_C: Totally random question, but you said you go to UCLA in California right? What time is it there?_

**B: Uhh currently almost seven in the morning. Wow, we have been talking for almost an hour.**

**B: What time is it for you?**

_C: Down in Georgia its almost ten now and what on earth are you doing up so early?! When I saw that you posted your new song I couldn't believe it was posted so late._

**B: Georgia? Gross. Is it hot? and I can ask you the same question, Beale.**

_C: Ten in the morning is not early! Lol and yes it's super hot! But it's cooling down as it comes closer to fall :)_

**B: Way too early for me that's for sure.**

_C: Well we are about to change that real soon :)_

_C: I honestly hate to do this but I have to go to class right now :( I can give you my cell phone number and we can text? Totally up to you. I just think it would be easier to communicate since we have a total of…. fifteen more questions to ask :)_

**B: Leaving me already? Yeah that's fine. Just give me yours and I'll just reply so you have mine**

_C: Cool! 678-xxx-xxxx_

_C: I'll text you after I'm done with this class okay?_

**B: Sounds good. Have a good day Chloe.**

**B: :-)**

_C: You too! Get some sleep you owl ;)_

A smile smile breaks through Beca's mouth as she stares at her screen while she types in Chloe's number into her contacts. She sends a message to give the redhead her's and connects her phone back into the charger.

With almost an hour of constant chatting, her battery almost went dry and it was a different feeling that Beca ever felt. Never was she big on texting and definitely wasn't big on texting complete strangers, but Chloe, she couldn't help but feel all giddy inside as the time talking to her flew by.

 _What does this mean?_ Beca thinks to herself, smile never once fading off her face as she situates herself underneath her blankets. Sleep is no question now as she feels her eyes drooping heavy and a big yawn makes itself present. Chloe was also another thing that strangely was ringing through her thoughts as well and maybe, just maybe, if she went to sleep for a couple hours, she'd wake up to a message from the one person who she just can't seem to get off her mind right now.

Maybe this is the start to something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omACAgee Tumblr, follow me friends for updates and all that jazz :)


	2. New Feelings

Beca feels content.

Especially without the blinding rays of sun that would sneak pass the blinds of her room and probably would've woken her up from this peaceful sleep she is now enduring. But instead, she continues to keep her eyes remaining closed as the darkness around the room soothes her comfortably.

She knows that it is probably close to around noon with the amount of brightness-which is too fluorescent to still be morning and should really get up and do some more work around the apartment you know? Yes, that would be the ideal thing to do but honestly, her bed sounds _way_ much better.

Soft music from her headphones play in her ear as it seems that she fell asleep with them on last night. Or this morning. Whatever. She tries her turn her body to assume a different and far more relaxing position but as she does, the cord from her beats headphones get tangled around her neck and she squirms around with eyes still shut, trying to break free from this mess.

Finally after she wrestled with the cord for a good solid five minutes, she throws her headphones onto the table-which also holds her cell phone and huffs back into her pillows, tasseled hair covering her face as she crosses her arms underneath the pillow that holds the one side of her cheek. Yelling can be heard from downstairs, matching perfectly to the amount of time it take Beca to get comfortable again and she knows it's definitely Stacie, but Beca chooses to ignore the demands and proceeds to go drift back to sleep.

"Beca!" She can hear the girl's name calling becoming louder, signaling her that Stacie is at least almost half way up the stairs and is no doubt strutting her long legs with a purpose up those stairs, ready to pull Beca out of bed by the hair. "Seriously?!"

Oh no. The voice literally sounds like it is right outside of her door.

Beca thinks about getting up to lock her door so she can resume her slumber in peace but before she can even open her eyes to put her plan to action, she can feel Stacie's presence behind her and knows that she is screwed.

So much for sleeping in.

"Wake up," Stacie demands sternly and Beca can tell by not even looking that the girl has both hands on her hips, sporting an unamused face as she waits for the brunette to obey.

But come on. It's Beca who she is trying to wake up. No way in hell is she going to listen.

"Beca…" Stacie tries again, and sounds a lot like her father right about now as he always had to wake her up for school before she ended up being late. "You better be dead or unconscious for sleeping till two in the afternoon." Maybe if she pretends that she isn't breathing, Stacie will go away.

And really? Two? Damn, there's no way she is going to be able to get her sleeping schedule back on track before school starts up again on Monday.

"Becccccaaa." Stacie has lost all other options and caved to whining. It almost makes her snicker into her pillow that holds her face but remember, she is trying to be dead, so she doesn't do that.

Beca can feel the leggy girl creeping up on her backside and doesn't have enough time to react before her butt gets a stinging slap from a firm hand and all her attempts of faking her sleep gets thrown out the window when she responds with a high pitched squeal.

"Bitch I knew it!" Stacie laughs like a hyena at Beca's wincing pain that is now present on her left butt cheek and jumps onto the bed before wrapping her limbs around the smaller girl, who tries to flail away.

"Stacie go away!" Beca is struggling to get anything out at the moment with Stacie's arms pinning her to the girl's chest. "I... was….sleeping!" Beca grunts, voice is winded from the amount of energy she is using and also muffled since her entire frame is being dissolved by Stacie's giraffe legs.

"You've been sleeping for hours now, I think you've had enough," Stacie retorts and Beca feels her smile spread over the skin where her face is pressed up against Beca's neck. "Get up." Stacie gives Beca a far more gentle pat to the area she smacked previously and hops out of the bed.

Beca takes the time to regain her breathing back to normal and throws herself to her back, eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinted with annoyance. An innocent shrug is what she is rewarded with as Stacie sits herself at Beca's desk and opens her laptop.

After many years living together and being as close as they were, passwords were exchanged from the both of them, even Beca's laptop as that item is her most cherished.

"I heard your new song this morning, by the way," Stacie continues to type forcefully on Beca's keyboard-just like she always does and Beca sits up in her bed to lean her back against the headboard. A loud yawn exits from her next as she stretches her arms up high and over her head before she cracks her back from left to right. "I have to say, it might be just as good as your Nsync and Pussycat Dolls one Becs."

Why on Earth did everyone like that mashup so much? It was a piece of trash compared to what Beca could do with her programs now. And she can admit that she picked two killer songs to mash; Bye Bye Bye and Buttons but truthfully, there were so many other options to choose from as Beca made like a hundred mashups.

She rolls her eyes because of course, Stacie goes through her folder and plays the damn song to prove a point and it begins to echo against Beca's semi postered walls.

She tries to think of something else rather than her rookie DJing skills and soon, red hair and blue eyes flood her memory. And it's when Beca's brain fully wakes up from her sleep coma that she remembers who was the reason for keeping her up all night.

Hastily, she flips over to her table and snatches her phone off the charger and smiles warmly when she sees a few text messages from the redhead herself.

_**Saturday August 20, 8:32 AM** _

_C: Good morning Beca :) Well actually afternoon because I bet you anything you won't see this until three because SOMEONE was awake all night ;)_

_C: All nighters remind me so much of college….man the memories. Next time you decide to play owl let a girl know and I'll join you! :D_

_**Saturday August 20, 11:44 AM** _

_C: Hmm, seems to be right since I've yet to hear back from you. It has to be like almost noon up there right? Wake up Mitchell! ;)_

_**Saturday August 20, 2:20 PM** _

**B: :-) Good afternoon. I didn't quite wake up at three, more like 2 but will give you some kudos for being close.**

**B: But honestly you can't blame me. You're just as big of culprit as I am….**

"Why are you smiling like that?" Beca breaks her gaze off the glowing screen in her lap and meets Stacie's suspicious glare as she walks to the printer and grabs some papers both of them need to fill out before classes. "I'm obviously right here sooo…" Stacie gloats, gesturing down her frame as Beca rolls her eyes and closes out of her phone.

It's been awhile since Chloe texted her, so she really didn't know when she'd hear from her again. It's actually the first time in like, forever, that Beca feels personally guilty for not replying to the red head.

What the hell was going on with her?

"Who are you texting?"

"No one," Beca can't even admit to herself and try to lie and say that sounded believable.

"Don't lie, Beca," Stacie gives that stern look again and she crosses her arms above her chest. "Who has you smiling like a cheeseball? Is it a girl?" Beca doesn't answer but it seems that Stacie catches the small curve on the corners of her lips and perks up at this. "It is definitely a girl!" Beca flinches at the increase of volume from her friend's body and tries her best to ignore Stacie's inappropriate hand gestures to fluff the situation.

Though the 'v' shape over her mouth with Stacie's tongue sticking out was super disturbing and made Beca feel uncomfortable.

Beca loves Stacie and thinks of her as a sister. Basically blood family. They tell each other everything no matter what it is and have since they were little. So, Beca shouldn't feel hesitant about telling her friend about a girl she met online last night, but that's not the case.

No, Stacie cannot find out about this girl, yet. Beca won't allow it. Plus, nothing big is even going on between her and Chloe anyways so there isn't really anything to tell Stacie.

It's just two innocent strangers texting so far. Nothing else.

"It's not a girl Stacie calm down," Beca chuckles under her breath, watching the excitement basically deflate from the taller girl as she stands on the heels of her feet. "You know you'd be the first person I'd tell if it _**was**_ a girl. Come on now."

Beca knows she's lying straight to her friend's face since there is no lying when it comes to Beca and how attractive she truly thinks Chloe is, but it's weird this time. Usually, Beca would talk to Stacie about girls she thinks are cute and they'd have a whole girl on girl convo about who's hot and who's not. Chloe though, isn't a girl who Beca can bring to the house for Stacie to meet with no problems. This is all an online interaction and Hell, they live on completely different sides of the country.

And it's not that she feels weird about talking to someone online, but she knows other people will think of it differently.

Thank you Dateline for ruining all hope.

"It's just-" Beca shakes her head and lifts up her phone to show, "all the reviews on my song are sorta cheering me up a bit." She shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. "That's it."

As she finishes, her phone vibrates in the palm of her hand and she clenches her fist together not to react so sudden by instinct and open the message, knowing it was Chloe.

Stacie had to _skedaddle_.

A visible frown makes its way across Stacie's face. "Booooo, that's no fun." Her voice is sad for Beca and she fakes a frown as well towards the taller girl, wishing that Stacie would leave her room so she could look at her phone. "But you know what is fun?" Her eyebrows practically raise to her hairline and above from the wicked grin she is now sporting on her face. "Going to the mall!" Stacie claps her hands erratically with a beaming smile and Beca fakes a laugh as best as she can.

The mall is the last thing she wanted to do today-though she did need some new clothes for school.

Of course Stacie wants to go to the mall.

She basically lives there.

"Get your tiny butt up! We are leaving in a couple of hours!"

And Sacie is out the door before Beca could even refuse her orders. Oh well, it will at least get her up and moving for the day. She turns on her phone in the meantime before she actually _**has**_ to get ready and opens Chloe's message.

_C: Why hello sleepyhead. Have a good hibernation ;) Winter is almost over!_

_C: And why am I being blamed here all of a sudden? :O_

**B: Thank you, I slept wonderful. And you know why. Because of you, I was up all night**

_C: That is not my fault!_

_C: I can't help that I'm so insanely fun to talk to now can I? ;)_

**B: Did I ever mention how much I enjoy your modesty? Really, it's a great quality ;-)**

_C: The sarcasm again :(( How can such a tiny person consume so much of it?!_

**B: Hey now, I'm not that tiny.**

**B: I'm fun sized.**

_C: Lol! I have to admit I agree with you ;)_

_C: Also super cute._

This hits Beca full force, directly into the gut.

Did Chloe just call her cute?

Is that what just happened here?

She tries to shake away the forming grin on her face when she feels her cheeks start to rise and by the heat surfacing to the area as well, she is almost certain that she is blushing like a schoolgirl.

**B: Have you seen me? I'm anything but cute. I'm badass Beale.**

_C: Whatever you say ;) I still think you're  super cute!_

**B: You're cuter**

"Did I seriously just say that?" Beca muttered to herself, reading the sending message on her screen and mentally slapping the shit out of her because who in their right mind responds like that? What was she? Twelve and playing a game of tag.?

You're it!

No, you're it!

No! You are!

_C: You think so?_

**B: God yes. I mean, look at you! With your killer blue eyes and long red hair. That's enough to put someone into cardiac arrest but your smile is the real weapon in this scenario.**

**B: You're beautiful**

_C: Wowzers, you're quite the charmer aren't cha? :) Thank you Beca._

_C: I have a confession…._

**B: Oh no….please don't tell me you're not a natural redhead**

_C: Don't worry, I'm the truest ginger you'll ever meet ;) But hey! What would you do if I wasn't? I think I'd be a pretty cute blonde don't you think? ;)_

**B: I'm pretty sure you can pull off florescent pink hair and still look gorgeous.**

_C: Well that's a good thing since my confession actually relates around that topic…._

**B: Oh seriously? I uhh, pink hair? Oh wow….um that's pretty risky**

**B: But like, it's your body, you do whatever you want. I'm positive it will look great**

**B: :-)**

_C: Lol! I'm totally kidding Beca! Never would I dye my hair pink!_

**B: Oh thank god. The red hair just suits you perfectly.**

**B: What's the confession then?**

_C: I mayy or mayy not have saved a couple of your selfies on Instagram to my phone and thought about posting one as my WCW….._

**B: ...**

**B: You did NOT! Haha**

_C: But I did! You're seriously the most attractive person I have ever laid eyes on and instantly when I discovered you, I couldn't help but be swooned by your face D: I'm so weak!_

**B: Wow….I'm actually at a lost for words.**

**B: But, very flattered ;-)**

_C: Oh god…...I'm never going to live this down am I? I'm just here to prove that you're not only 'badass' but also, super super adorable :)_

**B: Adorable? Gross, I think that's worse than cute…**

_C: Whatever Mitchell…._

_C: How's your afternoon so far?_

**B: It's pretty good. I haven't moved from my position on my bed so it's pretty fucking great. How was your morning/afternoon? Class?**

_C: Class was boring. As usual. I did end up doing a lesson plan and taught the kids how to sing the wheels on the bus :)_

**B: Tell me Chloe. What DO the wheels on the bus do?**

_C: Go round and round of course. Allllll the way through town ;)_

**B: Haha that's what I thought but wasn't too sure. What is it that you want to do with teaching again?**

_C: I want to teach underprivileged kids how to sing :) Possibly out of state since now I'm getting my masters. Don't know where yet but I have a while to decide :D_

**B: That's pretty neat. You wanna teach me how to sing? I'd love to have you as a teacher. I bet you would get hit on a lot by the immature teenage boys.**

_C: Not you? ;)_

_C: But yeah, it's what I've always wanted to do! And no I will not teach you how to sing until YOU teach ME how to._

**B: And how on earth do you know that I can sing?**

_C: A little birdy told me :)_

**B: Does this bird happen to be around seven foot and have two legs longer than a giraffe's? Also a pair of tits the size of watermelons?**

_C: Lol maybe….._

**B: Dammit. I knew Stacie didn't delete that one video she recorded on snapchat of me singing like she said she was going to. Asshole.**

**B: Wait, how do you know about this?**

_C: Well I follow you, obviously, on like every social media possible and Stacie tagged you in a video on Twitter that soon showed up on your timeline and like duh I watched it in a heartbeat. And all I have to say is damn Mitchell, you have a voice :)_

**B: So much for my hidden talent :-(**

_C: You should really post covers on Youtube as well. You'd be surprised at how many would enjoy it :)_

_C: You could be like the next Bieber or something! :O_

**B: Hmmmm….maybe.**

**B: And gross no. Not Bieber. At least Tori Kelly. Girl has some pipes on her.**

_C: Smh, so stubborn but very true ;)_

_C: So, is Stacie your girlfriend or whatever?_

**B: Wait what? Sorry I just choked on my water.**

**B: Girlfriend? Absolutely not. That'd be like incest!**

_C: I know you two are roommates and have basically known each other since grade school but you know how people are and how fast rumors start. Do you ever check your comments on instagram? Any picture you have with Stacie literally says, "you guys should so totally date" and then another person would comment, "they so totally are dating, like seriously, they announced it on twitter a week ago. Where have you been?" Then there's me searching through a million tweets just to see if it's true or not!_

**B: Holy shit. Yeah I read some of them but clearly not enough.**

_C: Obvi! You guys even have a cute little ship name!_

**B: And that would be?**

_C: #Steca_

**B: Hmmmm, clever haha**

**B: But no, she is my shithead of a best friend and nothing more. I guess I should clear that up huh?**

_C: Just a little bit ;) Stacie seems fun though! I follow her as well and she seems like a crazy fun time!_

**B: Ehh, she's alright**

_C: You guys sound like you love each other sooooo much ;)_

**B: Hey I love the sarcasm ;-) Am I rubbing off on you already?**

**B: Haha just kidding. She is awesome. Actually I'm spending the day with her since she's making me get out of bed to go shopping. How much do you wanna bet we spend most of our time in Victoria's Secret?**

_C: Taking that she looks like a Victoria's Secret angel, I'd have to agree with you lol_

**B: If she had a dollar for every time she received that compliment, she'd buy the whole damn company.**

_C: Psshhhhh who wouldn't?! Stacie is crazy hawtttt!_

**B: Okay slow down. First you compliment me, then you go ahead and do it to my roommate? I don't know if I can trust you anymore…**

_C: Lol No! I'm just stating the facts here Mitchell. But honestly, she doesn't even come close to you ;)_

**B:...you see? I don't know whether to believe you or not.**

**B: Also, Stacie is like totally a perfectionist. Turn off right?**

_C: Hey, same with my roommate! :D Maybe we could set them up!_

**B: Yikes, probably huh? Tell me about your roommate since you already know about mine.**

_C: Well her name is Aubrey Posen. We grew up together, literally, sandbox dates, all the way up to prom dates. Then we went off to college at Barden and joined an acapella group called the Bellas :) She's great and I love her to death. Sometimes she can be a little…...crazy and controlling but she is super fun to be around!_

**B: Sounds like Stacie would love her.**

**B: Acapella? That's a thing now?**

_C: Oh totes! We don't use instruments and all the sounds you're hearing comes straight from our mouths :D_

**B: Yikes….**

_C: It was probably the most fun I've had during college. I met a lot of really cool chicks-besides Alice who was a raging witch but other than her, the girls were my sisters :)_

_C: Aubrey sort of lost it her senior year with getting power hungry since she was captain but she settled down with time. I would always call her the blonde dictator lol_

**B: Alice just sounds like a bitch. And now that you mention the blonde, I've seen Aubrey on your instagram. I knew that Hitler vibe I felt wasn't just anything ;-)**

_C: You aren't even ashamed anymore at the level of stalker you're at huh? ;) And I'll tell her that you called her that ;)_

**B: If she comes up here to kick my ass it's on you….**

_C: I would never let that happen plus, she'll never admit it out loud but she's a total Michie fan :)_

_C: See, you even have a name for the fans who follow you! Tell me NOT that that isn't Bieber status! ;)_

**B: Oh god do they still use that name?**

**B: And why the hell wouldn't she admit it?**

_C: Her words, "that girl has nothing but madlib beats and ear monstrosities."_

**B: Ouch…**

**B: I think I like her already ;-)**

**B: But really? Ear monstrosities? What is she a ninety year old insulting someone at a game of Bingo?**

_C:Lol!_

_C:Don't listen to Aubrey because I love your ear monstrosities :)_

**B: Okay then, I feel a little better about them**

"Beca Mitchell, you better be getting ready and not still in bed or I'm going to strangle you with a pillow!" Stacie yells from somewhere in her room after the hairdryer was turned off. Beca thinks that she should actually get up soon if she wants to take a shower before they leave for the mall.

Or if she wants to live another day and not experience the wrath of Stacie Conrad. No one gets in the way of the mall and the girl without serious consequences.

Oddly, she smells like she totally just spent the whole day sleeping.

And her hair definitely looks like it, too, as she cringes at the rat's nest taking over her head when she finally gets up from her bed and goes to the bathroom.  

She goes through her drawer for a set of clothes to wear after going to the bathroom and washing her hands. Settling on some jean shorts since it's been pretty toasty outside for California lately and a flannel (shocker) to match, she heads back into the bathroom down the hall and starts the shower.

As she connects her music to the bluetooth speaker she set up inside the bathroom while unpacking, shown on her screen is a couple missed messages from Chloe.

C: _You should be as I have already reached my limit on compliments to give you ;) Mooch…_

_C:When are you going to the mall?_

**B: Sadly in like a half hour. I just got threatened by the devil herself because I wasn't even out of bed yet.**

_C: Omg GET UP! Lol ;)_

**B: I am I am! Geeezzz**

**B: I'm about to take a shower and then we will probably head out**

_C: Don't have too much fun with your dripping excitement ;)_

_C: I'll talk to you later :)_

**B: Trying to get rid of me already? :-(**

_C: Of course not! There's nothing I would rather be doing than talking to you all day :)_

_C: I just figured you'd like to enjoy your time with Stacie. I have some errands to run with Aubrey anyways :)_

**B: I guess you're right.**

**B: Okay, I'll text you later when we are back**

_C: I'll be waittttiiingggggg :)_

**B: Creepy….**

**B: :-)**

Beca wasn't even going to lie and say she wasn't a little disappointed that even after her shower, texting Chloe would have to wait. She doesn't know why and it seems like the feeling is only getting stronger and stronger every text, but not talking to Chloe leaves Beca feeling empty in a way.

As weird as that sounds.

It's like she'd be a hundred percent content at just staying in her room for the rest of her life, talking to this girl-who is someone that Beca doesn't even really know on a personal level. She doesn't know her like she knows Stacie, Amy, or Cynthia Rose. Hell, she hasn't even met the redhead in person and already she feels reeled in by this spell that Chloe mustered up the first time she laid eyes on her.

What the hell?

Boy oh boy, Beca doesn't really know how to react or even what to do right now. Maybe this break away from her phone will allow her to spend some alone time away from the redhead and clear her thoughts.

And also give her the time to spend some much needed girl time with Stacie.

* * *

The whole idea of clearing her thoughts and maybe finding some answers as to why she was feeling the way she was feeling for the redhead doesn't really take action like she planned and almost the entire time Beca and Stacie were at the mall, she couldn't for the life of her shake the girl out of her head. Beca even had to keep her phone in Stacie's car while they jumped shop to shop so she wouldn't end up texting Chloe. She specifically said to enjoy her time with Stacie while she does stuff with Aubrey, so Beca wanted to respect that.

But _**fuck**_ was it hard.

"I'm pretty sure you just bought the entire store with how much lingerie you and I are both carrying," Beca grumbles under her breath and leads the taller girl over to the food court so they could get something to eat and maybe relax for a bit. Beca clearly forgot how exhausting it is to walk around a gigantic mall all day, especially with a girl like Stacie who has store ADD and can't stay in one for longer than a few minutes.

"Hey now, you never know when these little goodies will come in handy." Beca isn't even looking at the girl since she is in front of her but can feel the power of the coquettish wink from behind.

She finds an empty table for the both of them to sit and falls into the wooden chairs with a strangled puff of air. "God, I'm exhausted," she mutters while slamming her head down into her arms that rest on top of the table.

"Why?" Stacie as well joins from across the table and sets her bag down next to all of the other matching pink ones. Her legs cross as she situates herself and moves her sunglasses from her hand to the top of her head, pushing her hair back slightly. "You basically slept all day anyways."

Beca lifts her head up slowly, blowing the hair that has fallen above her eyes away. "I was up all night working on that song so _technically_ I didn't sleep all day."

"Poor babyy." Stacie reaches out to pinch Beca's cheeks jokingly, but isn't quick enough to do it when Beca slaps her hand away from her face with a sharp eye roll.

" _Don't,_ " She warns but it isn't taken seriously because her stern glare fades and she breaks into a small chuckle.

"What stores did you need to go to still?" Stacie asks and gestures her head over to the smoothie booth. Beca follows the nod and soon the taller girl leads them over to the stand. A smoothie sounds nothing but delicious right this moment.

"Probably just Tilly's, Pac Sun and maybe Zumez, but that's it," Beca answers Stacie before giving her order to the girl at the register running the smoothie booth. "Uhhh I'll take a medium beach bum please." Not only is the drink filled with blueberries, pineapple, whey, and everything delicious, there also isn't _**any**_ sugar used.

How neat is that!?

And healthy!

Beca watches the girl type in the order on the computer and connect her gaze back with Beca's.

"Would that be all?" If you were to ask Beca she would say the smile she receives from the cashier is a little different than the ones she is normally use to. A little more _cheesy_ and a lot more _flirty_ , if she's being honest.

"No that's it." Beca offers a smaller like smile and hands the girl the money.

The cashier declines the money and pushes it away while Beca furrows her brows highly confused. "Oh you pay after, just to make sure everything is correct on your order," she explains sweetly and Beca has never heard that rule before.

And since when did this smoothie place change rules? Never did she have to pay when she got her drink.

The smile the girl has planted on her mouth is still going strong and out of the corner of Beca's eye, she can see Stacie studying the interaction from the distance as she waits for her drink next to the counter. Instead of arguing, Beca slides the money back into her wallet and in the butt pocket of her pants. "Uhh cool. Thanks." And then joins Stacie over by the counter.

"What was that about?"

Beca catches the combined look of suspicion, as well as a threatening smirk that is seconds away from appearing on Stacie's face before responding, destined for a mouthful of teasing. "Nothing?" she answers as a question because she really has no idea why Stacie would suspect anything at all.

Okay, so maybe the girl was _extra_ friendly, Beca admits, but so what? That doesn't mean anything.

"Bull shit," Is all Stacie responds back with and a smirk full of playful amusement smears across her mouth.

"Order for Stacie!"

Luckily, she doesn't continue as she hears her name called. "Yay that's me!" Stacie cheers excitedly and grabs the drink from the young guy's hand who ended up making it. "Why thank you, love." She cooes with a deathly wink and Beca swears for a moment that the guy's heart stopped beating completely. He can't be no older than sixteen and a little on the nerdy side, so what was Stacie trying to do? Give the poor kid a heart attack? Geez. It doesn't seem like he gets this type of attention normally, especially from a girl as hot as Stacie.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?" Beca comments and her deadpan face does nothing to Stacie as she shrugs it off, proudly, while taking the cherry out of her drink and placing it inside her mouth.

"Order for…... _Beca_!"

The same boy's words get cut off last second with a high pitch squeak as he catches a perfectly tied knot in a cherry stem being pulled directly from Stacie's mouth.

"Oh my God," Beca hurries the grab the drink from the stunned boy's frozen hand and pulls her friend away before she and this cherry stem is the cause of his brutal death. If he ends up fainting, at least Beca is CPR certified.

So there's that.

"What are you doing?" Stacie stops mid laugh at the scene when Beca drags them back to the register.

"Getting you away from a minor before you get thrown in jail," Beca replies simply and it causes Stacie to laugh even harder. "Also, I have to pay for my drink."

"What, why?" This perks Stacie up as she gives her full attention. "We already paid before we got these." Then she goes on about just leaving and Beca isn't really up for stealing a five buck smoothie when jail time could be included if got caught. 

"No not me. The girl told me they started this new thing where people pay after they get their drink, just to make sure everything is perfect," she explains and heads over to the register.

As she is walking up, the cheesy smile appears on the cashier's face again but Beca tries not to think too much of it. "How much was it again?"

"Oh don't worry about it." The girl waves her hand and shakes her head. "It's on the house."

Oh wow. Beca was not expecting this. "Uh, are you sure?"

"Totally." If possible, the smile grows by like ten and it leaves Beca feeling too awkward smile back, not really knowing what to do, or why she just got a free drink.

Not that she is complaining or anything. Saves her a couple bucks.

"Thanks," Beca says appreciative and is about to walk away to Stacie, who has a shit eating grinning on her face, but gets stopped in her tracks by the cashier's voice again. She turns around and the girl is holding up a piece of paper that looks like the receipt.

"Don't forget this." Beca is about to decline the piece of paper since she never really keeps track of them anyway (plus she didn’t even pay), but then she notices pink writing down towards the bottom.

"Oh right." She grabs the receipt with a tight lip smile. "Thanks."

"Have a good day."

And Beca walks away quickly because pieces were starting to fill the puzzle. The flirty smile, the over niceness from the cashier, the not paying for her drink.

It all made sense.

And to prove Beca's theory, written in a bright pink pen was a set of ten digits that ended with a perfectly made heart to dot the 'i" in the name Madi.

"Is that what I think it is?" Stacie points to the receipt placed in between Beca's fingers as she studies what is written on it. Beca doesn't even have to answer before the paper is snatched out of her grip and now Stacie is reading the pink numbers for herself. "It is!" She squeals with way too much joy anyone should have for anything, really. "You totally just got her number!" Stacie ignores the shush she receives from Beca and continues to keep her volume high with a beaming smile. "Madi's number…. _ow_ _ow_!" Stacie shimmies her shoulders in a teasing way, along with unnecessary cat calls.

"Shut up, Stacie," Beca whispers sharply under her voice, dragging the taller girl away from the scene she just caused. She literally thinks she might die of embarrassment.

"Wait…...this is a blank receipt. You didn't pay?!" Stacie doesn't even try to hide the amount of offence in her tone. "What the fuck! Why did I still have to pay?"

"I don't know, Stacie. Maybe look at the proof which is who was given a number and who wasn't." Beca decides to joke back when they finally are away from the crowd of people and back in their seats alone. Stacie responds with a dramatic gasp while her hand comes up to her chest, clutching the area. This causes Beca to break and she is laughing back in her seat, head stretched upwards to the ceiling of the mall.

"Well, are you going to get at that?" Stacie changes to a more serious tone, handing back the receipt when Beca is finished laughing.

Taking the receipt, she crumbles it in the palm of her hand and tosses it into the closest trash can. "Definitely not, dude." The look on Stacie's face resembles one who just got slapped. "I already got a free drink out of it." She shrugs her shoulders, taking a sip out of her free smoothie.

" _Annnd_ you could've gotten laid on top of that!" This response causes Beca to choke violently on the icy liquid in her mouth and she is positive that she is seconds away from choking on a pineapple.

"What?! Oh my god, Stacie," Beca says in between coughs, voice raspy from the smoothie going down the wrong hole. Chest freezes fucking blow.

"Why won't you call her!? She pretty fucking cute and you know I don't think anybody is cute enough for you."

Despite Beca's previous actions and Stacie's blunt amount of word vomit, Beca smiles when she regains herself back to normal because it's so true. The boyfriends and girlfriends Beca dated in the past always had to go through Stacie even before the first date and always, did the taller girl say she could do so much better.

It was sweet actually.

"Okay, yeah she was cute-" Maybe not Chloe cute, but she was decent. Wait, why was she even comparing the two? "-but, I don't know. Just not something I want to get into right now."

"I thought you always had a thing for blondes since like half your exes are beach barbies."

Yeah, blondes were pretty fucking cute, but for some reason, redheads were so much better. Plus, this Madi girl had blue eyes and all Beca could think about was how they weren't as blue as Chloe's.

And also how her smile didn't have the same effect like Chloe's had on her.

Not that she is comparing the two again….

 _Dammit_.

"I just.. I don't know, Stace. Don't want to talk to anybody right now," Beca sighs, dropping her smoothie on the table.

It was half true at least. She really didn't want to be in a relationship with her senior year of college coming in fast and didn't want any distractions. But then the other half was telling her that she didn't want to get into a relationship with anybody simply because it wouldn't be with Chloe. Jesus, she doesn't even know if the girl is single at the moment, let alone swings the same way as her. She could be as straight as a board and all Beca is doing is digging herself a bigger hole. One she could bury herself inside when she gets confirmation the Chloe is a, either straight or b, has a boyfriend.

Both are equally as painful she thinks.

"Fine." Stacie finally gives up on convincing Beca to call this chick and sinks back into her chair. "Though I'd hate sharing you with whoever you were interested in, I just want you to be happy. And you haven't dated anyone since that one girl who's name should not be spoken of our first year of college."

Long story short, Beca dated this girl Megan who ruined her life for solid few months. Rule number one, never date a closeted lesbian who only wants to experiment and never come out.

"I know, Stace, but really, I'm fine," Beca says, feeling like Stacie doesn't really believe her but when she offers a small smile, the taller girl mirrors it.

"I know you are," Stacie connects her mouth to her straw and finishes the last bit of her drink. "I just don't want you to lose hope you know. And be a crazy cat lady or something." Beca snickers at this, watching Stacie get up and throw her cup away. If being music producer didn't work out, there's no hesitation that she wouldn't be a cat lady.

Maybe not crazy but wouldn't mind owning a few dozen of those furballs.

"Love for you is out there, I know it. When it will come and how? That's something I don't know."

"Thanks, Stace." Beca has to admit, Stacie is a great person to talk to about serious issues like this one. That is after you get past all those sexual comments and what not but honestly, the girl speaks wise and that's something Beca treasures the most about her best friend.

"Of course, Beca." She sees Stacie starting to pick up some of the bags from the ground and it signals Beca to do the same.

"Let's get some more shopping done."


	3. New Rules

_**Saturday August 20, 4:23 PM** _

**B: Can you remind me to NEVER go with Stacie to the mall again? I'm pretty sure my legs are about to fall off.**

_**Saturday August 20, 4:55 PM** _

**B: Didn't you say you'd be here waiting for me when I got back? What happened to that? :-P**

Clingy wasn't really in Beca's vocabulary. Never has. She enjoyed her space away from people, friends, even past significant others. Music for the most part would often take up majority of her time so constantly, she would be too busy working on mixes to even think about hanging out with her friends. Now, with Stacie working on grad school applications and probably for the rest of night, Beca had all the time in the world to focus on music and music only. Maybe edit some old tunes-or take notes on newest songs she'd like to remix. This was _her_ time alone, and she would always treasure every second of it….

That was until now.

There was an annoying itch there. Right in the tips of her fingers and deep inside her gut with constant unsettling flutters. One that just wouldn't go away and Beca found herself checking her cell phone every second to see if Chloe had responded yet. Every flinch, ray of light that would shine through the screen of Beca's closely placed phone mustered up an unholy amount of excitement, hoping that it was a certain redhead-who Beca just can't for the life of her get out of her head, but only to glance down and see it was everything _**but**_ Chloe.

Beca tosses her phone angrily to the table next to her bed with a groan and leans her head back until it's rest on the headboard. She closes her eyes for a bit, getting a grip of this new and sudden urge to talk to Chloe before she blows up with a bucket full of impatience. She tries to make up excuses for the redhead not answering. Like, maybe her and Aubrey got caught up with extra errands and there was traffic preventing them to do everything on schedule. Or maybe Chloe's phone just so happenly died as she was responding back to Beca and she didn't pack an extra charger so she has to sit phoneless in the traffic back home.

Yeah, it doesn't really work.

Chloe didn't owe Beca anything. Jesus, they haven't even been talking a full day, let alone fifteen hours. But who's counting?

She could do whatever she wants, whenever she wants. And Beca tried to get that through her head but it's in one ear, out the other.

Instead of overthinking everything like Beca's is almost an expert at, she gets up from where she is laying on her bed and walks over to her laptop, turning on some music before plugging in her headphones. Maybe if she mixes for a an hour or so it will distract her from those aggravating Chloe thoughts.

_**Saturday August 20, 5:12 PM** _

Still, absolutely fucking nothing. Her inbox is dry, her notifications have zero and Chloe is still MIA.

Why? Why why why why _**why**_ , wasn't Chloe texting her back? She could've at least told her that she would be gone majority of the night, not that Beca should be her main priority or whatever…..but tell that to Beca's newly appeared clingy alterego.

Where on earth could she be? Did Beca scare her away somehow? Was Chloe angry at her? Why does Beca even care?

Roughly around an hour has gone by and Beca planned on working on her mixes but turns out, Chloe ended up beating out her motives and the whole time she sat at her desk, thumbs turning around the dials on her deck back and forth. Beca couldn't even think about a single transition without thinking of that damn redhead.

So far, Beca has managed to log onto the program where she usually creates her edits but only to stare at a brand new project with zero to none progress.

She exits out of her DJing program quickly, knowing absolutely no work is being done any way so it will save her the time and she switches over to instagram so she can scroll down her feed for the day.

Boring, boring, boring, oh look a cute dog pic! Beca double taps on her childhood friend's picture with the dog before continuing her scrolling and seeing what other nonsense people are posting now a days. No one nor Beca cares about people's workout pictures that she knows for a fact, just went to the gym to take a selfie and definitely, no one cares about some girl's MCE picture that they seem to post every goddamn monday of their boyfriend of literally, two weeks.

Love at first sight, Beca knows this. But they don't have to remind her every time they post a damn picture on the internet because she hasn't already forgotten.

Though she wants to.

Her chin is being held up by her right fist as her left thumb scrolls her down endless pictures and it isn't until she is witnessed by that killer smile and deathly blue eyes, that she nearly loses her balance and slams her chin into the corner of her table. She blinks her eyes a few dozen times to adjust and maybe just see if her Chloe withdrawal is causing hallucinations, but that isn't the case.

A few hours back, Chloe posted a selfie of her and Aubrey at the post office with the caption, "Busy ladies for the day as we wait for mail. #Errands."

Beca double taps on the photo after admiring Chloe's smile once again and how insanely good she looks today for a few solid minutes. She clicks on Aubrey's tag and it directs her over to the blonde's profile where she doesn't hesitate by clicking the follow button until it turns green. Hell, it might be creepy that she followed her without any warning whatsoever, but hey, she was Chloe's friend and what's so wrong with getting to know hers?

Nothing.

Exactly.

She takes the time to look around Aubrey's profile and can tell by just the amount of school pictures and graduation photos from high school that she was a smarty by the gold honors satin around her shoulders. She knew about these pieces since Stacie graduated with the same thing and that girl is the smartest girl she has ever met, hands down. 

 _Those two would be nice together._ Beca thinks to herself as she studies the blonde more in depth. They're both tall, smart and look like they take no shit from anybody. Plus, Beca can't even lie and say Aubrey is pretty hot.

When she has enough of looking at the blonde, she exits out of Instagram and double checks her inbox to see if Chloe replied. Still, nothing was there and it made Beca roll her eyes and slam her phone down into the bedsheet next to her with maximum annoyance.

Where the _hell_ was Chloe?!

_**Saturday August 20, 6:34 PM** _

Beca has came to a conclusion.

Of course, it took hours of convincing herself with the battling thoughts bouncing back and forth but finally, she has an idea as to why she is freaking out so much about this situation.

Beca _misses_ Chloe.

Like, a shit ton. An uncomfortable, annoyingly scary amount that leaves her wanting to simply text Chloe until the girl finally replies. Blow up her phone with messages so there is no way Chloe could focus on anything else except for her.

And call her selfish all you want; she knows it already, not that she is proud of it.

All her life, she was content at being alone, never wanting to talk to someone _this_ much and if not, she literally thinks she is about to go insane. She tried taking her mind off of Chloe and attaching it to something else, that something else being mixing, but that didn't work. Tried taking a shower-which by itself wasn't very smart nor appropriate with Chloe running through her mind. She even tried eating something, thinking maybe some food would out weight the redhead since food is the number one way to her heart but even then, freshly made pizza wasn't enough to block out these swarming Chloe thoughts.

"What's wrong with you?" Beca tears her eyes away from where she was staring and up to her opened door and sees Stacie leaning on the doorframe with her arms crossed above her chest. She moves her reading glasses to the top of her head before she makes her way over to Beca's bed and flops down when her thighs hit the mattress. "And what's got you staring at the wall like you are eagerly waiting for the numbers to the powerball ticket?" Beca watches Stacie steal a slice of pizza from the box, dripping the tip of the cheesy goodness into her mouth.

Beca clears her throat to regain herself, hopefully it will be believable enough to convince Stacie for the time being. "Oh..uh it's nothing, really. Like, totally _okay_." Yeah, plan backfired.

Stacie snorts through a mouth of pizza, chewing it enough to swallow it down. "You should know I can read you better than anybody else, Becs. Even better than my hundred dollar college textbooks that I've gladly just got done buying online." Stacie jokes and Beca knows her friend can read her like a native language so really, she doesn't know why she even tried to lie. "Tell me what's up, munchkin."

Beca shakes her head with a small snicker at the choice of nickname. "You know I really hate it when you call me that."

"Which is why I keep doing it because you're just too cute when you're annoyed." Stacie brings her hand to pinch Beca's closest cheek while the smaller girl tries to smack her hand away from her face. "Please tell me what's got my best friend acting so weird."

Confliction is something Beca has never been good at. One part of her is telling her that she should bring up Chloe to Stacie since A: it's not really a crime if she would tell her best friend that she is talking to a girl online since technically, her and Chloe aren't even really "talking" and B: Chloe mentioned that she was going to run by Beca to Aubrey which shows that she isn't weirded out about talking to someone online.

But the other part of her is telling Beca that Stacie will either make fun of her for having possible feelings for someone online, or try talking her out of it. And she even has a hunch that Stacie will scramble up the quickest evening of dateline episodes possible, just to add the cherry on top.

"Beca?" Seems like Beca got caught up in her own thoughts until Stacie snapped her out of them.

She shakes her head. "Sorry, I uhh…" And runs a free hand through her hair. "Do you ever wonder what someone else is doing?"

"All the time. But I have a feeling that we aren't talking about the same thing."

Beca scoots down on her bed until she is able to lay her back fully on the mattress. "There's this girl…" She doesn't even make the full sentence out before Stacie shoots up from her position on the bed with wide eyes and a gaped mouth.

"I fucking _knew_ it!" Stacie has to always be right, something Beca has discovered about her friend. And though she was in this scenario, it was still annoying to hear. "Why didn't you tell me?! When do I get to meet her? You know she has to go through me before she plans on anything, remember?"

"I know, Stace, but that's not the case in this situation." Stacie's facial expression softens at this and she situates herself on the bed like how Beca was laying. She urges her to continue with concerned eyes and Beca exits a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I met her online." Stacie doesn't say anything, but Beca knows the girl is biting her tongue to keep it in. "Her name is Chloe and I met her through Tumblr when she commented on my newest mix. She's from...Georgia," Beca says the last part a little uneasy as now it sounds absolutely crazy that she is talking to someone so far away.

Stacie nods her head, taking everything in. "Do you have a picture?" This wasn't what Beca was expecting from the taller girl. She was expecting more of a lecture that this online talking is dangerous or just plain out stupid. That you never _really_ know who you are taking to behind a piece of technology-which is true.

She nods her head before pulling out her phone and opens up Chloe's Instagram page. She hands the device over to Stacie who takes it and scrolls through the hundreds of photos.

"She's super cute," Stacie comments with a smile, fingers still navigating through the pictures. "That red hair is something else and damn her eyes are seriously blue." Beca can't help but smile at how true everything Stacie was commenting about Chloe was what she first noticed when falling upon the girl's profile. Chloe was gorgeous and even Stacie agrees.

Stacie hands Beca back her phone and knows by the tint in her eyes that she has something to say about what Beca was doing with Chloe. "She's cute Becs but, it's risky. Long distance isn't ideally easy nor fun to take part in, especially if you love the other person-"

"Whoa whoa Stace, too far," Beca stops her mid sentence, baffled a little. "We are just talking. Nothing about love or whatever."

"Still Beca. If you get to that point, distance is something you have to think about." Beca knows Stacie is right. Hell, she is always right. And it's not like Beca hasn't taken to account these roadblocks _IF_ something were to happen between her and Chloe.

But it hasn't gotten to that point yet, and she doesn't even know if it will.

"I'm not a fan of online chatting with someone just because I've gone through it and it fucking sucks. But, I'm not in your shoes and not going to stop you from talking to Chloe, especially if she makes you happy." Stacie offers a small grin and Beca who can't hold back the smile in return. It's sick how already Chloe makes her day better by just a simple text.

"Thanks, Stacie. You know if anything does happen between us, you'll be the first to know."

"Damn right I will be." Stacie bounces off the bed and takes another pizza from the box. She walks over to the door, but stops in her track, turning her head over her shoulder to continue. "Just, be careful okay?"

Beca's phone goes off almost immediately after Stacie leaves her room and she has this hunch in her gut that tells her it's Chloe. Being right, she clicks on her phone and it shows an unread message from the redhead herself.

_**Saturday August 20, 7:32 PM** _

_C: I'm sorry! :( I know what I said but what I didn't know was that I'd be going on a BDD with Aubrey after we got done shopping :(_

She promised herself that when Chloe texted back, she'd hold off on replying, just to give the girl a little taste of her own medicine. Immature really, but nonetheless, the silent treatment doesn't last for long before Beca is typing up a response.

She is weak okay?

 _ **B:**_ **It's all good haha. I was just working on some stuff so it was nice to have no distractions ;-)**

It was a lie, Beca knows because this night had zero progress on whatever she was attempting to conquer.

But Chloe doesn't need to know about the details.

**B: What's a BDD? Sounds pretty intense.**

_C: I am not a distraction Mitchell ;) I'd call myself a good little break from whatever you'd be working on._

_C: And a Blind Double Date._

_Date_?!

What the **fuck**?

Chloe didn't reply because she was on a _date_?!

**B: Oh wow.**

Fuck, Beca knew whatever this was going on with Chloe was too good to be true. How could she be so stupid and honestly think that there would be the slightest possibility of anything happening between the two of them? Chloe lives in Georgia, she lives in California-which is basically on opposite sides of the country and the cherry on top, they haven't even met.

She feels sick and she wants to crawl under a rock and never come out. Maybe drown her emotions with chocolate frosting and junk food.

_C: Yeah I honestly had no idea until Aubrey told me to get ready and dress appropriately. Then once we made it to whatever restaurant this date was suppose to take place, Jesse was there with someone else._

**B: Who is Jesse?**

_C: Jesse is the guy that Aubrey is talking to. They've only been on like one date before tonight so it's nothing serious right now._

**B: Oh I see**

**B: How was it?**

**B The date...that is.**

_C: It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be! I've been on blind dates before that have been set up by Aubrey that turned into a disaster so I went in a little 'ify'_

**B: Who was the lucky guy?**

_C: His name is Tom :) We had a few classes together back in college so I was familiar with his face. By that, it didn't make the dinner awkward or anything._

**B: So do you like him?**

_C: Yeah I do. I mean, he has changed a lot since college. I remember hearing people talk about him like he was just another asshole jock that only played girls to get into their pants. But now, he has a well paying job, living well and has….matured quite a bit._

**B: Well I'm happy for you.**

_C: Thanks Beca :)_

_C: Enough about me, what are you up to? I was almost certain that you wouldn't respond because you'd be in bed sleeping since that's like….all you do ;)_

**B: Now that you mention it, I'm actually going to go. I uh, have a pretty busy day tomorrow.**

**B: I'll talk to you later.**

_C: Oh. Okay. Night Beca_

Beca tosses her phone with a scoff over to her table violently and doesn't even bother charging it that night. Kinda like, what's the point, you know? She couldn't shake this feeling of... _jealousy_? Or whatever it was and she slowly felt like it was eating her alive.

Sleep-though she needed it and told Chloe that's what she would be doing since she had to go- was the last thing Beca did that night.

* * *

_**Sunday August 21 10:32 AM** _

**B: Hey. Uh, It's Beca. You gave me a free smoothie yesterday**

**B: And also your number. Just fyi, I didn't stalk you or anything**

Fun fact, Beca didn't actually throw away the receipt with the girl's number on it, obviously. She kept it in her pocket after sneaking it out of the trashcan to avoid any confrontation she'd get from Stacie-which she wanted to avoid at all costs. Also, maybe this smoothie girl can come in handy- like right now actually.

She still felt awful and annoyed at her and Chloe's conversation last night when she woke up this morning. This Tom guy was still planted in her head like a fucking virus and she couldn't for the life of her get rid of the image of his and Chloe's magical date that swept the redhead off her feet.

How fucking pathetic.

So, her next plan involved this smoothie girl she met the day before and hopefully, it would help straighten her up a bit and get Chloe out of her brain. The last thing she needs is to be depressed over an online girl who she so happens to have a major crush on.

Finally! She admits it to the world.

Too bad the redhead probably isn't even gay and is just overly flirty to everyone. 

_Smoothie Girl: Oh Hey! :)) I was almost positive that you wouldn't message me! I was slowly losing hope :(_

**B: Yeah no, sorry. I just got busy last night.**

_Smoothie Girl: Oh it's totally okay :D I'm just happy you finally texted me :))_

_Smoothie Girl: What are you up to? :))_

**B: You wanna go out?**

**B: Like for lunch?**

_Smoothie Girl: Oh yeah! That sounds fun! Lucky for you, I don't work today so I'm free :))_

**B: Cool. Do you want to just meet at the mall? I'm feeling some Cafe Rio right now haha**

**B: Noon?**

_Smoothie Girl: Perfect! :) I'll see you at noon :D_

Almost right after she responded, another text came in.

But from another person. 

_**Sunday August 21, 10:42 AM** _

_C: Good afternoon Beca :) I hope you slept well!_

**B: Hey Chloe. I did thanks. I actually can't talk right now. I have a lunch date that I have to get ready for.**

_C: Lunch date? I didn't know you were talking to somebody_

Oh gee Chloe, how does it feel now?

Beca pinches the inside of her palms to keep her from replying with a, "me and you both" or, "I didn't know about this Tom guy either but THAT still happened."

**B: Yeah I wasn't. At the mall yesterday, this girl gave me her number so we set up a date. It's nothing too serious, just lunch. But who knows. Could be more.**

Beca honestly didn't want to do this. Go out to eat with some girl that she knows the only reason she is doing this is to somehow get back at Chloe for her date with Tom. In Chloe's defense though, she had absolutely no idea about the whole date with Tom. It was Aubrey who dragged her in blind so really, it wasn't _completely_ her fault. Also, there wasn't anything going on between her and Chloe -like she said for the millionth time in the past few days.

_C: Oh okay. Well I'll let you go. Have fun!_

**B: Oh I will.**

* * *

_**Sunday August 21, 2:03 PM** _

_Stacie Conrad: Beca where are you? I went into your room expecting you to still be asleep but you weren't in there._

_S: Did you get kidnapped?_

_S: Are you alive?_

_S: Did someone pull a Taken and I have to go out, find and rescue you?_

**B: I'm at the mall calm down haha well, was at the mall. I'm walking around right now.**

_S: Why the hell are you at the mall again? I thought we got everything yesterday_

_S: Unless…._

**B: Oh God.**

_S: UNLESS YOU ARE THERE WITH SUPER HOT SMOOTHIE GIRL!_

**B: Shut up Stacie…**

**B: But yes. That's why I am here.**

_S: Details Beca! I can't believe you didn't tell me you went on a date with her!_

**B: Technically, it wasn't really a 'date date' but more so a get to know you meeting.**

_S: Whatever it was….you still didn't tell your best friend!_

_S: So? How was it?_

**B: I..don't know. She is pretty and stuff but it's weird. I feel like she only gave me her number because I'm somewhat known for my music around California.**

_S: Somewhat known? Beca, you're basically MagCon in popularity ;)_

**B: FUCK NO**

**B: Gross. Don't ever compare me to those talentless group of fuck boys.**

_S: HAHAHA! Okay sorry but anyways, you're becoming bigger by the second. Your music is getting more downloads and your name is getting around. It's only days before you're the next Tiesto or something._

**B: Thanks Stace but I don't know. Madi was a little weird.**

**B: She kept posting snapchats of me and putting it on her story.**

_S: Well now it makes fucking sense…_

**B: What does?**

_S: She is lowkey trying to make you her sugar daddy! And maybe show her friends that she is out with California's most hottest DJ_

**B: Haha what are you talking about? I barely have enough money to support us.**

_S: I know but you're semi famous-whether you like it or not and when you DO become more popular with your super awesome songs that I'm positive are gonna make bucks, she wants to make sure she has you on lockdown before anyone else gets to you._

_S: You already have your groupies dawwwwww ;)_

**B: Well shit. It's a good thing that I didn't really plan on anything more than just friends with her.**

_S: Why not!? She might just want you for your fame but at least you could've boned her._

**B: Oh wow. You think I'd be use to your lack of a filter**

_S: I'm brutally honest, you know that Becs. And I know deep down that's what you love the most about me ;)_

**B: Very true.**

**B: Even though it stings a bit.**

_S: Whatever, you're tough. Anyways, sex. Why not?_

**B: Because she is….bubbly. Too bubbly for me and not in the adorable way Chloe is either.**

**B: She also uses a lot of emojis.**

**B: It's annoying**

_S: Becs, I told you about this Chloe girl. Long distance is hard. Wayyy hard._

**B: I know I know but Stacie. I can't get her off my mind. No matter what I do, no matter who I see, I always end up thinking about Chloe.**

_S: You have it bad, Becs. Never thought it'd be possible with only two days of talking.This Chloe girl must be something else huh?_

**B: You have no idea.**

**B: What do I do?**

_S: Maybe talk to Chloe about these feelings. See if they're mutual._

**B: She is going on dates with this Tom guy so I doubt there's anything there.**

_S: Beca!_

_S: Maybe you should start with that first!_

**B: I'm sorry, I just….hate thinking about them together. That's why I went out with Madi today. Maybe it would make me feel better about Chloe's date with Tom.**

_S: Well did it?_

**B: ...**

**B: No.**

_S: See? This is why I'm hesitant about you talking to this girl online. Already, she has you confused about your feelings towards her and now, she's dating some guy named Tom?_

**B: They aren't dating officially. It was just a last night thing I guess.**

_S: Whatever it is Beca, it's affecting you._

_S: I don't want to see you get hurt._

**B: I know and thank you, Stacie. I just need to push my feelings aside when I talk to Chloe. It's not going to be easy but not talking to her at all sounds even worse.**

_S: I think you can do it._

_S: Work on your music, focus on school and yourself._

_S: You have wayyyy too much going for you to waste it all on some online chick who I have to admit, is pretty good looking ;)_

_S: I don't blame you_

**B: Haha thanks Stace and I will.**

**B: I'm glad I have you to talk about this with.**

_S: And you always will whether you like it or not B! ;)_

_S: What did you eat for lunch?_

**B: Cafe Rio**

_S: :O_

_S: That's my fav!_

_S: Bring me home some of their chips and salsa? :(_

**B: I already got you some :-)**

_S: God, how did I get so lucky?_

**B: you and me both.**

**B: I'll be home soon.**

* * *

_**Sunday August 21, 9:21 PM** _

_C: You may or may not be still on your "lunch date" since I have yet to hear from you and it's really late here, at least, but I miss talking to you :(_

_C: This guy better not replace me because I treasure our talking time and had you first_

**B: Haha, nope. Not on the date anymore.**

**B: Also, not a guy.**

Beca could've sworn that she told Chloe that she got a number from a girl. Maybe she already forgot.

_C: So…..a girl?_

**B: Surprise.**

_C: Ohhhh!_

_C: Oh wow okay! Fun! Very fun!_

**B: Yeah….whatever you say haha**

**B: She left not too long ago**

_C: It's pretty late._

Beca feels pretty guilty for lying to Chloe but also, she couldn't help but enjoy that feeling of power she could sense in the redhead that showed obvious signs of some hostility towards Beca's so called "date."

It was a nice little change.

**B: Thanks Captain Obvious ;-)**

**B: But yeah that's why she left. First day of classes start tomorrow and I need some beauty sleep.**

**B: Making out all night doesn't really give you that.**

Making out? More like sitting on your bed with a bag of puffy cheetos, binge watching episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflix. Beca hated movies but this show was just too good to turn off.

_C: Didn't you just get this girl's number? Moving a little too fast don't you think?_

**B: Nahh.**

**B: I think we are moving at a perfect speed.**

_C: Oh._

**B: Well I have to go to sleep soon. I was lucky enough to be blessed with an 8:00 class haha.**

**B: I'll talk to you tomorrow?**

_C: Yeah, sure._

Beca drops her phone next to her side without even a response back. She knows Chloe is upset and not her usual bubbly self. Hell, not once was there one emoji in her messages. That's how Beca knows for a fact Chloe is pretty pissed off.

Beca should feel bad.

Feel bad for lying and mustering up this false scene that involved her with another girl but truth is, she doesn't. It feels good to be on the other side of things and not the one picking at their skin while jealousy takes over. And maybe that's not even the case with Chloe and Beca is over reading everything about their conversation.

But something is there.

She knows it.

* * *

School sucks ass.

Beca maybe thought that her senior classes would be a little bit more fun now that she is almost done with college and is taking actual courses that comes with her major but no,

It still fucking sucks.

At least she doesn't have to take anymore of those Gen Ed classes like sociology and American History. She'd for sure shoot her brains out if she had to sit through an hour lecture of the past presidents of the United States.

Boring.

Now, was her last class of the day, thank the lord. And it wasn't because she wanted to go back home and hibernate for the rest of the day after she ate something. And it definitely wasn't the fact that she has been spending the last hour thinking about what she should have for lunch.

That'd be ridiculous….

Beca's last class was musicology which overall, wasn't too bad. Just a lot of information that Beca needed to know about different cultures and their music according to the syllabus. The thing about college kiddos is that the first like...week of classes usually isn't so bad. Professors will probably go over the course and the amount of work shouldn't be a lot. It's usually just a syllabus and icebreaker type of day-which Beca is perfectly fine with.

As Beca's professor was going on about certain projects the students would be conducting over the semester and just by the overuse of due dates, it sounded legitly important, Beca soon zoned him out when she felt her phone vibrate through her pocket. Sticking the end cap of her pen in her mouth, she reaches down into her pocket and sees a new message from Chloe light up on the screen.

She makes sure that her professor isn't paying attention to what she is doing, knowing that bolded in the syllabus was, **CELL PHONES ARE PROHIBITED IN MY CLASSROOM DURING LECTURE.** When she sees his back is turned to start writing things on the whiteboard, she proceeds to open up Chloe's message under the table and in her lap.

_**Monday August 22, 1:40 PM** _

_C: Beca, we need to talk._

She knows that right now wouldn't be the ideal time to have whatever conversation Chloe was planning on having since she is still in class and getting in trouble on the first day isn't on her bucket list at the moment. So, she ignores the message and shoves the device back into her pocket before she gets caught.

Not even a five minutes later, another message vibrates through Beca's jeans that makes her groan with irritation at what possibly could be so important that Chloe would want to talk about right this instant.

_**Monday August 22, 1:44 PM** _

_C: I forgot you had class today and I don't know what time you get out but I can't keep this to myself any longer so listen._

_C: I know this smoothie girl wasn't at your place last night and "maybe," you had a date with this girl but I know you don't like her. Actually, I'm one hundred percent positive that you don't and you only said the things you said to get back at me for going on a date with Tom. Well Beca for your information, I don't like Tom and I told him that. He's a hell of a nice guy but not my type. So, let's get things straight. I like you, you like me and all that effort in making me jealous worked, congrats. But, I'm not going to sit here and do nothing about it when I know there is something between us. It's strange and I know it sounds impossible with how long we've known each other, let alone talked, but you have to admit, something is there._

_C: I'm not saying that we should rush into anything because I don't even know your favorite food lol but what I am trying to say is that I call dibs on you and if you want the same for me, that means we don't talk to anybody else._

_C: Okay, my rant is done. Have a good first day of classes :)_

Beca blinks a few dozen times to make sure that what she was reading was actually there and not her brain playing some trick to make it seem like Chloe wants to seriously start talking.

Like, "talking talking."

Pinch her because she might be dreaming.

And second, this Chloe was way too _hot_ to even function on anything school wise.

**_Monday August 22, 1:46 PM_ **

**B: I thought I sounded pretty believable last night Beale.**

_C: No lol you didn't. Who brags about making out all night if their main focus isn't to make the other person jealous?_

_C: Nice try ;)_

"Okay class-" Beca jumps in her seat when she hears her professor's voice echo through the classroom.These last few minutes felt like she almost forgot where she was and hasn't even been on the lookout to make sure she doesn't get caught texting. Instead, she was just staring at Chloe's messages over and over again, still in denial about what was being shown through her screen.

"I hope you guys took notes- _good_ notes about these fairly large projects that are due throughout the semester."

No. That was something Beca did not do. Hopefully she can grab the notes from some other student in the class later on but for now, that was the last thing on her priority list.

**B: Okay fine. I made it up.**

_C: Was I right about the other thing too?_

**B: Smh, is it that obvious?**

_C: Just a little ;) But I'm great at reading people. Even through the phone._

_C: It also didn't help that your whole mood altered when I mentioned that I went on a date ;)_

**B: Are you trying to say I was jealous?**

_C: Am I wrong?_

**B: Pft, no.**

**B: But you have no room to talk Ms. "Aren't you guys moving a little too fast" ;-)**

_C: Fine. Guilty. I was jealous that you had someone else over-even though it was a lie anyways ;)_

_C: I just, didn't know if my gaydar was right…_

**B: Gaydar? No haha really?**

_C: Lol yes! Can you blame me? You're like gorgeous and probably have boys on your junk like all the time. I didn't know if my hunch about you liking girls would be right so I didn't take the chance. Then, you admitted to getting this girl's number and a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders_

**B: I felt the same about you. And when you went on this date with Tom, I knew that you couldn't be into girls. Have you seen you? It's like some gay girl invented you in a lab or something.**

_C: Cute ;) And I'll have you know, I'm super into girls…..like a lot._

_C: Especially cute DJs ;)_

**B: Ugh, I'm not cute Beale.**

**B: But I have to admit that I'm super into redheads with blue eyes :-)**

**B: Not smoothie girls that I meet at malls.**

_C: Lol well I'm glad we straightened this out :)_

**B: Me too.**

**B: What happens now then?**

_C: Nothing has to happen. We can just... see where the stream take us._

_C: Just now know you're off limits and if any other smoothie girl tries to give you her number, she has to go through me. ;)_

**B: Haha okay.**

**B: Sounds like a plan :-)**


	4. New Questions

_**Monday August 22, 2:12 PM** _

_C: How were classes? :)_

**B: You know, I honestly think dropping out and becoming a stripper or owning my own drug cartel might be better option for me.**

_C: Oh shut up! Lol_

_C: And I like the term "exotic dancer" better than stripper. Sounds classier. Andddd, they make pretty good money if you know where to start at_

**B: You know an awful lot about this.**

**B: Wanna tell me something? :-P**

_C: It was either that or teaching. Whichever offers the most money ;)_

**B: So you picked teaching?**

_C: Yep! Turns out if I pick the right school district and stick with them, the money nearly triples in pay per yer._

_C: Plus, I didn't want to show off my body for free like that. Have you seen the people that go to strip clubs? Um, how bout no to pervy old men with porn staches!_

**B: Technically, they ARE paying for your body since you have to pay to even get in the place :-P**

_C: You know what I mean! Don't be an ass lol :(_

**B: Me an ass? You're the one stereotyping people who attend strip clubs haha. Last time I checked, I wasn't a perv or a man ;-)**

_C: Mitchell Mitchell, are you trying to tell me you go to strip clubs on a regular basis? ;)_

**B: Definitely NOT**

**B: More like once when I turned 18, hell yeah. It was either that, cigarettes (gross), or a lotto ticket.**

_C: And a lotto ticket didn't meet your standards?_

_C: But boobs did? ;)_

**B: What can I tell you Chloe, I'm a boobman ;-)**

_C: I feel like I learn something new about you everyday ;)_

**B: Come on, haven't you gone to one before?**

_C: Well unlike you, when I turned 18, I chose the lotto ticket. I know I know, it was a mistake now that I think about it but hey! I won a total of $2 :D_

**B: I'm going to pretend like you just didn't say that…**

_C: Shush! Lol!_

_C: I went when I was older! Once! But at 18? I was too scared lol_

**B: You don't seem like the type of girl to get scared that often haha**

_C: Yep, so wrong lol_

_C: I'm actually terrified of a lot of things! Strip clubs being one of them_

**B: And you wanted to work as a dancer? Any correlation there?**

_C: I love to dance so yes there was a correlation!_

_C: Maybe…? Correlation is math right?_

**B: Oh my God.**

**B: Math not your forte? ;-)**

_C: YOU'RE SO MEAN!_

_C: Why am I talking to you again? :((_

**B: Because I'm irresistible**

**B: And also one who is awful at math as well.**

**B: Hence why I chose a music major since on the degree plan, there wasn't a single math class required.**

**B: Except for a few Gen Eds but that was alright. Just copied off a smart kid to get by.**

_C: :O you're one of those!?_

**B: Are you going to tell me you weren't?**

_C: Well…..no._

_C: I can't pass math without a little peek here and there ;) luckily for me, I had a super smart best friend that was excellent at all sorts of math_

**B: Hey same here!**

**B: Calculus, algebra, trig, whatever it was, Stacie helped a ton. Just had to bribe her with either money, clothes or makeup. But being bankrupted is a hell of a lot better than failing high school math.**

**B:You know, I was good at math from like elementary to like…. middle school. It was like one minute I was racing other students to the top of the multiplication tower then all of a sudden, letters were starting to be mixed in there. That's when I called it quits haha**

_C: Oh my goodness. Story of my childhood lol!_

_C: Speaking of Aubrey, she had quite the fangirl moment when you followed her randomly on Instagram ;)_

**B: And here I was thinking she didn't like me and my, "ear monstrosities"**

_***New Text Message from Stacie Conrad*** _

_**Monday August 22, 3:30 PM** _

_Stacie: Hey I'll be home soon. We need to go grocery shopping for the apartment so I'm picking your cute butt up._

**B: Really?**

**B: We have mac and cheese-a shit ton btw- ramen noodles, red bull, pop-tarts and like every type of Doritos known to man.**

_S: What are you?_

_S: A broke college student living in the dorms? No. Get ready, I'll be there in fifteen._

**B: Half true actually. Have you seen my bank account lately?**

_S: Beca! :(_

_S: You better be ready by the time I get there!_

**B: Geez fine. I'll be ready.**

_**Monday August 22, 3:38 PM** _

_Chloe: She'll deny it if you ask but like I said, super fan ;)_

**B: Well I'm flattered!**

**B: You with her?**

_C: Nope. She's busy with her classes. The girl is suicidal and taking like 20 credit hours for her masters program._

**B: It's scary how much her and Stacie are alike….**

**B: What's her number so I can give it to daddy long legs?**

**B: jk haha**

_C: Lol seriously though! I mean, if she wasn't already talking to somebody now I'd be so down to play match maker_

**B: Wait, totally joking but pump the brakes….**

**B: Aubrey swings both ways?**

_C: Not confirmed but I totally know she does. All it takes is a steamy make out session in college to bang your head against the closet a few times before coming out. ;)_

_C: And not to be cocky or anything but I tend to change a few people's gears here and there ;)_

**B: Oh wow!**

**B: So what you're trying to tell me is that you're the reason for Aubrey being sexually confused?**

**B: YOU'RE THE STEAMY MAKE OUT SESS IN COLLEGE?**

_C: And what on earth makes you think that? ;)_

_C: Oh wow look at the time! I have to go and get ready for my workout ;)_

"Beca I'm here! Let's go get some grub!" Stacie enters the apartment and yells up to Beca's room, dropping off all her school supplies. Beca lets out a long exasperated groan because of course, perfect timing. Just when she was going to dig up some dirt on Chloe, she just so happens to come home.

So much for that idea. "Beca!" Stacie yells again, this time louder.

"I'm coming I'm coming!" Beca hops out of her bed and throws on a jacket, rolling her eyes the entire time she does so. Impatient is Stacie's freaking middle name.

**B: You're lucky I have to go be domesticated and pick out groceries for the apartment.**

**B: We are soooo talking about this when I'm done**

_C: Hmmmm, maybe ;)_

_C: But seriously, Aubrey and I are going to the gym. I'll text you when I'm done kay? :)_

**B: Sounds good. Have fun running and stuff**

_C: Oh I will ;)_

* * *

"I don't know what's got you in such a rush but this check out line isn't moving any faster with you pacing back and forth between the isle." Stacie raises a suspicious eyebrow with a squint to her eyes as she puts the food picked up onto the conveyor belt. Stopping in her tracks, she begins to throw on more groceries, way more than the belt could handle. Half the food wasn't even on the table let alone standing correctly.

"No rush." Beca shrugs her shoulders, failing to attempt to sound casual when she continues to urge the old lady in front of them to, in Beca's words, move her ass.

"Bull shit Beca." Stacie grabs the last bit of food out of the basket before moving the cart up closer to the register. "Usually you're Ms. Picky when it comes to your choice of junk food. This afternoon though, you could care less if it's gummy bears or gummy worms when a week ago, you'd cut my hands off if I didn't get you gummy worms because you say they're "chewier"" Stacie uses her fingers for air quotes. "Now explain why you're trying to get home so quickly."

"Seriously, it's nothing Stace," Beca assures her friend again but just when she looks ahead at the old lady in front of them and sees her pull out a wallet full of coupons, she throws her head back with an annoyed huff. "You gotta be kidding me!"she snarls under her breath.

Coupons? Seriously? It's not like this lady would be spending a lot anyways with her laundry detergent and cleaning supplies.

"What percentage is your phone at?"

Beca cocks her head at the random question, but responds anyway. Taking out her phone, she glances down. "10%" then Stacie nods her head, mouthing a, "makes sense" that Beca catches last second. "What?" she asks innocently.

"Don't play dumb! You know you just wanna get home so you can charge your phone and talk to Chloe." Well, caught red handed. "Too bad though because you're coming with me to get our nails done!"

"Wait what?" Did Beca hear her correctly? Did she seriously just say they're going to get their nails done? If so, there is no way her phone battery will last and that means Chloe might text her when she can't even reply.

Absolutely not.

"Aren't you glad I drove?" Stacie blows a kiss to the dumbfounded brunette before sliding her card in the machine.

_You gotta be kidding me!_

* * *

_**Monday August 22, 6:12 PM** _

_C: Hey :)_

**B: Well it's about time.**

**B: I was about to subtweet Aubrey asking if you guys got eaten by a treadmill or something**

_C: Very funny ;) No, sorry. We went to our usual gym and saw that there was a free yoga class at 7 so of course, we stayed for that!_

**B: Now I see who is more important to you Beale…**

**B: Yoga :-(**

_C: Wow is big bad Beca Mitchell jealous of a little yoga? I bet you wouldn't be if you saw the benefits on my body ;)_

**B: Trust me, I've seen them.**

**B: And yoga is forgiven :-)**

_C: You're too much :)_

_C: What are you doing?_

**B: Stacie and I just cooked dinner and now, I'm digesting with a bowl of ice cream on the couch**

_C: What did you guys cook? :) And ice cream sounds amazing right now_

**B: Delicious teriyaki bowls for the main dish, and for the sides, freshly made fried rice and craft made wontons.**

**B: made from your's truly.**

_C: You can cook?!_

**B: Do I get points if I say yes?**

_C: Points? You can get the prize :D_

_C: That's super neat. I wish I could cook :( I always end up burning something or the food just comes out tasting like crap :(_

**B: Then yes, I can cook. Don't go and post it all over twitter or anything. I think it will give my badass DJ image a bad rep**

_C: No way!_

_C: I think by doing that way more people than already will try and wife you up ;)_

**B: Good thing I'm only saving myself for one special lady**

_C: Lucky gal ;)_

_C: Must be something else to catch this talented DJ's eyes ;)_

**B: Ehhhh, she's alright**

**B ;-)**

_C: I changed my mind, all your points are gone ;)_

**B: I bet I can win them all back. Maybe more.**

_C: Oh really? ;)_

**B: Yup..**

**B: Anyways!**

_C: Oh my gosh! You Beca are something else :)_

**B: You've told me that already :-)**

**B: What are you doing?**

_C: Bree ordered pizza so I'm waiting to eat before I take a shower :)_

**B: You haven't showered AND you worked out?**

**B: Gross ;-)**

_C: Do you find humor in being mean to me?! Lol_

**B: Of course not :-)**

_C: Whatever :(_

_C: On the subject of food, what's your favorite?_

**B: Oh no.**

**B: Are we starting this 20 questions again?**

**B: But to answer your question I have to say Italian. Mexican comes in as a close 1st tho**

_C:That sounds like a great idea! That was question 14 btw ;)_

_C: Yum! Italian is my fav too! Look at how much we have in common ;)_

**B: Basically best friends!**

_C: Yeah...that's not going to last for long ;)_

"You are freaking me out dude."

Beca lifts her eyes up from the glowing light on her screen and meets Stacie's lingering glare that has suspicion written all over her features. Being right, Beca still has that goofy grin on her face, even when she locks eyes with Stacie who is sitting on the other side of their couch, watching the E! Network with her legs reclined on the coffee table.

"Chloe?" she asks with a forming smirk that's starting to curve up at the corners of her mouth.

"No," Beca scoffs up a lie, but even the mention of the redhead's name causes her already sported smile to almost double in size, mouth stretching all the way to her ears.

Stacie shakes her head with a chuckle and reaches to the table to grab her nail flier. "Damn you have it bad." Great. Now Beca's face is getting hot and dammit! She knows for sure she is blushing. Thank god Stacie is too busy filing her nails to pay attention to anything else.

"Shut up," Beca grumbles, hiding her reddened face in her jacket by throwing the hood on. "Leave me alone and watch your Kardashian bull shit."

Turning up the volume with a proud smile, "Thanks for the permission, Becs. You keep texting your favorite redhead. I'll leave you alone babes."

 _Thank GOD!_ Beca keeps that to herself but rolls her eyes when Stacie tosses her a wink. She hated when Stacie would tease her about these things.

Gotta love best friends right?

_C: Question me up! :)_

**B: What type of music do you listen to?**

_C: That's hard because I literally listen to everything! But if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be pop, obviously, but also dance/electronic music :)_

_C: A lot of your stuff :)_

**B: Very good choices ;-) Really my stuff is other people's stuff so I take no credit haha**

C: But you make them like….a billion times better!

C: Do you write your own stuff or anything?

**B: Yeah I have done a little drabbles here and there**

C: Why don't you post them! You have an amazing voice that should be heard :)

**B: You need to stop saying things like that.**

**B: Stacie is going to burn a hole in the side of my head with her eyes at the amount of smiling I'm doing. I bet it's a rare sight for her.**

_C: Just speaking the truth! :) And get use to it buttercup. I'm not stopping for no one ;)_

**B: I'm going to ignore the pet name….**

_C: You LOVE it ;)_

**B: Yeah yeah. Whatever**

**B: So you like the house music/rave type of scene?**

_C: Anywhere I can dance I love but yes, those especially._

_C: Wanna know a talent? :)_

**B: Sure**

_C: I can glowstick like a champ ;)_

**B: Glowstick?**

**B: Glowsticking?**

**B: Like a raver? Haha**

_C: Not like a raver! But like, cool little hand motions with glowsticks :) I should go pro…._

**B: That's totally a raver!**

**B: What, you just carry around a backpack full of glowsticks, waiting for the DJ to drop those sick beats so you can pull out your figure 8s? ;-)**

_C: Yes, exactly!_

_C: Jerk ;)_

_C: I'm going to have to show you some day! It's pretty neat...not to brag or anything ;)_

**B: You are going to have to because all I can picture is a redhead drugged up on ecstasy twirling around two glow sticks in her hands while wearing those outrageous fur boot things.**

**B: Not a bad image tho ;-)**

_C: Trust me, you'll love it :)_

_C: As for your music library, I can bet you're a fan of David Guetta since like you remixed all his albums ;)_

**B: You know David Guetta?**

_C: Really?_

_C: ….._

_C: Yes I know him! Dumb question Beca ;) Just because I'm a few years older than you doesn't mean I'm like a grandma or anything!_

**B: Don't mess with grandma ;-)**

**B: But yes, his music is good. I like a little bit of everything too. Mostly house tho**

_C: Your titanium one is my fav :)_

_C: I listen to it all the time!_

**B: Is that so?**

_C: Yep. That song is my jam…_

_C: My lady jam ;) Song really builds._

**B: What the fuck is a lady jam?**

_C: Oh pizza is here! Ttyl Becs :D_

**B: Hey! Answer me**

_**Monday August 22, 7:30 PM** _

**B: Come back….**

_**Monday August 22, 7:40 PM** _

**B: Ugh, fine.**

"Hey Stace," Beca turns off her phone and turns her body on the couch to face her friend. "What's a lady jam?" The term didn't ideally sound the most "appropriate" to share with anybody else. It sounded like it came from urban dictionary or something.

And if there is anybody in the world who is fluent in inappropriate terms, it would be Stacie Conrad.

"Oh you've never heard that before?" Stacie keeps her eyes on the file that's currently shaving down her middle finger.

"That would explain why I'm asking you," Beca retorts sarcastically and receives that newly filed middle finger as a reward. She ignores this with a smirk before repeating her question."What does it mean?"

"Who's asking?"

"Me."

"From?"

"Chloe." Why was this an interrogation right now? She just wanted to know what the damn word meant.

"It's a song that she flicks the bean to," Stacie explains nonchalantly. "Diddle the skittle. Play a little Dj hero late at night." Beca furrows her brows together, not getting what Stacie was referring to. She has heard of DJ Hero, the Wii game; duh she bought it, but something is telling her that it doesn't exactly mean the same thing. "Schlicking it up-"

"Stacie, can you talk in actual sentences?" Beca interrupts before she gets thrown any more unknown sayings. "Those make absolutely zero fucking sense."

"Jesus, Beca, she means masturbation," Stacie finally tears her eyes away from her nails to give Beca a, "are you serious" expression. All Beca can do is gape at this, definitely not expecting _that_ to sum up this term. "Lady jam….masturbation. Same thing. A song she fing-"

"OHKAYYY," Beca stops Stacie immediately before the words come out. Too much to process. Way too fucking much to process. "Thanks," she mumbles under her breath and she can feel her face getting hot all over again with the amount of laughter erupting from Stacie on the other side of the couch.

"You guys already getting hot a sexy over the internet?"

Beca doesn't even know how to respond to that.

"I'm going up stairs," So instead, she gets up from her spot, pulling her hoodie farther up on her face because the heat seems to be spreading to everywhere on her face and body and she doesn't want Stacie to see.

"Just remember we are on a shared plan for our phones, so I don't want you wasting all of our data on some phone sex with a hot ginger. If you want to diddle around go to Starbucks. There's free wifi."

And she ignores Stacie's cackles from the downstairs as she hurries up the stairs. Hiding every inch of embarrassment and marches into her bedroom to be away from the teasing.

Should she dig a hole for her body now or later?

* * *

_**Monday August 22, 8:32 PM** _

_C: I'm backkkkk :)_

**B: Took you long enough….again. I should have you know that I don't like waiting ;-)**

**B: Did you take a shower?**

_C: Yes I did, fyi ;)_

**B: Good, I'm pretty sure I smelt you from all the way in California**

_C: SO MEAN!_

**B: I also asked my comrade what a "lady jam" is and wow…..okay**

**B: Should I say I'm honored that one of my songs is able to get you to that….peak? Haha**

_C: You should feel VERY special that one of your songs can get me to that level ;) Your's booted out my other lady jam and thank god it did….if you know what I mean ;)_

**B: I don't know if I should be grossed out or fascinated…**

_C: You think about that ;)_

_C: WHILE… I ask some more questions to add to our game! I spent a lot of time in the shower thinking of some so brace yourself :D_

**B: Glad I'm on your mind when you're in the shower**

**B: And wet**

_C: Do you always have this dirty of mind? ;)_

_C: Incorrigible Mitchell!_

**B: Is that one of your questions?**

_C: No!_

_C: Are you from California?_

**B: No. I moved here from Portland Oregon. Boring, I know.**

**B: What about you?**

_C: From Tampa Florida :D_

**B: UGH! Florida?!**

**B: I think that's worse than Georgia when it comes to humidity…**

_C: :( Man, it's so true. It was a rough life until middle school when the family decided to pack up and move over to somewhere else less hot but still hot lol_

**B: You poor soul**

**B: Favorite candy?**

_C: Peeps :D_

**B: Why am I not shocked your favorite candy is like the cutest one?**

_C: They're not only cute but super yummy :)_

**B: Mine are gummy worms. Sour only**

_C: Those are pretty darn good too!_

_C: How tall are you? :) You can never tell in pictures_

Beca stares at her message that has the numbers,"5'10" typed in the text box. She is already self conscious about her height but lying about it won't be any helpful in the future if her and Chloe plan to meet eventually.

But also replying with 5'2 doesn't sound anymore better.

There it is with the conflictions again.

**B: 5'8**

Nope, that's pushing it. That's almost Stacie's height. 

**B: Jk, 5'5**

Still, if they were to meet, that's jumping up quite a bit on the ladder.

**B: Jk again, 5'4 ½**

_C: Ohhkayyyy,_

_C: Am I supposed to guess orrr? ;)_

**B: Ughhhhh. I'm 5'2**

_C: Awwwwww :D_

_C: Wait, you went from 5'8 to 5'2? That is nowhere near close! Lol_

**B: Shut up…..**

**B: I swear if I hear a short joke I'm blocking you**

_C: Lol! I won't I won't_

_C: But cutieeeee :D You look taller in your pictures!_

**B: -_-**

**B: How tall are you?**

_C: 5'3_

**B: YOU AREN'T EVEN THAT MUCH TALLER THAN ME!**

_C: But you're still shorter which automatically makes me taller than you AND gives me the right to say how adorable it is ;)_

**B: Moving on…..**

_C: Okay fine :)_

_C: I already know about your earphone tattoo. Do you have any more?_

**B: Yep. Lotus flowers on the back of my upper right shoulder, and grasshopper on my forearm, equalizer bars mid back**

_C: I have a bug tattoo too!_

_C: A ladybug on my wrist :)_

**B: See, more stuff in common. Perfect match I'd say :-)**

_C: I knew writing you that message on tumblr was a good idea :) Though I was super nervous to do it._

**B: Why is that?**

_C: Because you're pretty huge on like youtube and everywhere else with your music. It's like talking to a celebrity in a way._

_C: But you're much cooler ;)_

**B: Damn right I am Beale ;-)**

**B: But I don't like to think of myself as famous. I haven't even started the process to become a music producer. Haven't even interned or anything. Right now, I'm just a college student who sits in bed all day and occasionally makes a good mash up every once in a while**

_C: Don't be so hard on yourself. Your mixes are great. And when you DO find a record label to intern at, they'll love you. Silly old mashups or the stuff YOU personally write._

_C: You're super talented and I have no doubt that you won't go far in life :)_

**B: Fuck…**

**B: There you go again with the sweet talk.**

**B: I didn't know it was possible to smile this much haha**

_C: I've been smiling a lot more too :)_

_C: I think it's because of the lovely weather we are having down in Georgia ;)..._

**B: Asshole! Haha.**

_C: Just Kidding xoxox_

_C: If it makes you feel better, I use to hate texting until three days ago :)_

**B: That's like super hard to believe :-P But appreciated. I feel a lot better ;-)**

_C: I'm rolling my eyes btw ;)_

_C: Got anymore questions floating up in your head? We are kinda almost done with our game :D_

**B: Yeah I got one.**

**B: Got any siblings?**

_C: Yes! Two brothers :) Chris (4 years older) & Clay (3 years older)_

_C: You?_

**B: Nope. Well kinda I guess. Stacie in a way is like my sister. I've known her for like..ever.**

_C: Makes sense :)_

_C: Have any pets?_

**B: God no. Pretty sure they wouldn't last in our apartment with how busy we are**

**B: Though Stacie was all for a pug when we rented this apartment haha I'm waiting for the day I come home and there's a box full of them.**

**B: They're so ugly they're cute haha**

_C: Really!? When Aubrey and I went house shopping we HAD to go and adopt a dog to bring back. Now we got Tank :)_

_C: Very true about a pug btw :D_

**B: Tank? What kind of dog?**

_C: Great dane! Black and white :)_

_***New Picture Message from Chloe Beale*** _

Beca opens the picture and nearly drops her phone when she is greeted with the monstrous size of Chloe's dog. He is cute and all, but she was expecting a cute little lap dog, not a damn horse. But taking her attention off the dog, Chloe was also in the picture, kissing the side of her dog's face and boy did she look beautiful. Even just in a baggy t-shirt, hair up in a bun and glasses? Beca didn't know she wore contacts.

Not that she is complaining because if there is one person who can make wearing glasses sexy, it's Chloe.

And Stacie.

But mostly Chloe. 

**B: Well, now I know why his name is what it is**

**B: Jesus his head is like double of yours!**

_C: He's pretty big. Not even done growing yet! :O_

_C: Total cuddle ball though. That's why we got him. FYI, I love to cuddle ;)_

**B: He looks like he's going to eat you.**

**B: I'm flabbergasted.**

**B: Wow.**

**B: Cuddling? Ew :-P**

_C: Don't worry. We will change that too ;)_

_C: New question!_

**B: Okay! hmmmm...**

**B: What do you look for in a partner?**

"Fuck me." Beca slaps her palm to her forehead when she sees the message being sent and absolutely no way of canceling it before it's sent and Chloe opens it.

Was that jumping the fence with the questions?

Was it too soon to ask something like that?

Dammit, she knew she should've asked what her favorite movie was, or something childish like that.

And oh God she just read it!

And now she is replying...

Abort abort abort abort Mitchell!

_C: I'm going to be honest, I have high standards lol_

_C: I want someone that's funny and gets my jokes but has a different sense of humor in a way. I want someone who enjoys to do the things I do. Without being embarrassed because I barely get embarrassed and they'll do something simply because I just want to. Eyes and smile are a MUST. I love tattoos and piercings (ear monstrosities) This may be selfish but I want a lot of loyalty from someone. Life is going to bring in curve balls after curve balls and I want to make sure whoever I'm with will be strong enough to stick with me through them. Hold my rope kind of thing. Trust is a big one and just someone with a likeable personality._

_C: Lol you must think I'm crazy now_

_C: But you get stabbed in the back so many times that you start to build a shield around anybody that gets close._

_C: You know?_

**B: I know exactly what you mean.**

Beca does.

It's so true it hurts honestly and it's almost like Beca typed up that message, word for word. Chloe and her thought exactly the same.

**B: I'm the same way when it comes to people. My dad left my mom and I when I was young and I've sorta shut people out ever since. Especially when my mom passed away my sophomore year of high school**

_C: I'm so sorry Beca. I… I don't even know what to say_

**B: No it's fine haha**

**B: Sorry for bringing it up and getting all deep on you.**

**B: I just...don't know. I feel like I can talk to you about these things**

_C: I feel the exact same way too :)_

_C: Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it's not easy but I'm glad you trust me enough_

**B: :-)**

**B: Okay, new subject plz haha**

_C: Are you a virgin?_

Beca is taking a drink out of her water when Chloe's next message pops up, causing her to choke on the liquid and spray it out all over her blankets on the bed.

Talk about getting straight to the point.

_Goddamn!_

**B: What!?**

**B: Oh my god!**

_C: Sorry, was that crass? You don't have to answer…_

**B: No no…**

**B: Just took me way off guard haha**

**B: No though**

**B: Being a virgin and all….**

_C: Both ways? With a girl that is._

**B: Uhh yeah. Not a girl virgin...boy virgin yes**

**B: Wow it just got hot all of a sudden…**

_C: Lol sorry to fluster you! I was just curious_

**B: Well?**

**B: What about you?**

_C: Just like you, but switched. Girl virgin lol_

**B: When did you...you know?**

_C: My senior year of highschool with my highschool sweetheart Paul. God, it was awkward and painful lol_

_C: You?_

**B: Like, a year ago. Thought this girl was something more and cared the world for but clearly I missed the, "I'm only experimenting" phase and I got dumped.**

**B: Or maybe I just suck in bed**

_C: Lol!_

_C: I'm sorry to laugh but you probably aren't bad in bed. I bet she was just a bitch who couldn't handle everything you gave her. I'd say it's her lost now that you're off the radar ;)_

**B: Look at you making my shattered ego feel better ;-)**

_C: That's what I'm here for ;)_

* * *

_**Tuesday August 23, 3:34 AM** _

**B: I was down riding on the boardwalk at Huntington Beach and for some reason, my wheel hits a divot on the bridge and I fall and break my wrist. Yep, last time I ever got on a longboard haha**

_C: Oh no that's awful! Lol_

_C: You need to be taught by a pro though ;)_

**B: Good luck trying to get me back on one of those devil devices Beale :-P**

_C: I bet I can do some pretty intense convincing ;)_

_C: Did you play any sports?_

**B: haha didn't really "play" sports but more so, "tried"**

**B: Soccer for a little bit when I was really little….hated the running so I quit. Then tried softball in middle school during gym class and I got a ball to the face and broke my nose.**

**B: That's when I picked up music lol Less dangerous.**

_C: Was that also when you found out you liked girls? Balls to the face just wasn't for you? ;)_

**B: HA HA HA**

**B: YOU'RE SO FUNNY**

_C: LOL! I had to ;) You sooooooo set that one up for me!_

**B: I WAS going to compliment how in shape you look but not anymore…**

_C: LOL stop it!_

_C: And thanks! I played volleyball in middle school throughout high school and I run, swim, do yoga and go on hikes with Bree all the time :) Nutrition is important!_

**B: Ew. So much cardio.**

**B: You know what else is important? Taco Bell.**

_C: Ahhhh my weakness :O I LOVE Taco Bell!_

**B: …**

**B: Where have you been my whole life?**

* * *

_**Tuesday August 23, 4:24 AM** _

_C: I'm pretty sure that was like question 43 lol_

_C: I feel like I know everything about you! ;)_

**B: Creepy….**

**B: Oh my god!**

_C: What?_

**B: I have to get up for class in like 3 hours!**

_C: OMG! I'm so sorry! It honestly didn't seem like it was that late!_

_C: I feel awful for keeping you up so late :(_

**B: No don't worry, honestly.**

**B: Totally worth it :-)**

_C: You won't be saying that tomorrow when you fall asleep during lecture!_

**B: Keep me up then. Entertain me :-)**

**B: You do owe me like…..that much.**

**B: For keeping me up and all ;-)**

_C: Hush Mitchell ;)_

_C: I like when you do that :)_

**B: Do what?**

_C: Put the little nose in the emoji, super cute ;) Only like my parents add the nose lol_

**B: First, you make fun of me for not using emojis, now you make fun of me because of the nose I add? It adds character I think :-)**

**B: Look at that lil guy**

_C: You're seriously too cute to even process :)_

_C: I mean "Badass" ;)_

**B: Thank you!**

**B: Isn't this weird?**

_C: What is?_

**B: I don't know. Talking literally all day and not once having nothing to talk about. I haven't done this since high school.**

**B: Like, I'm not even tired and I love sleep haha**

_C: We all know Becs ;)_

_C: And yeah, it is weird. But I also like it. A lot actually._

_C: Being able to talk to someone from day to night and never getting bored. It's nice :)_

**B: I feel the same.**

_C: But…..I'm letting you go because you have class and the last thing I want to happen is for you to get kicked out for not paying attention :P_

_C: So, this is a good night._

_C: Good morning maybe? I don't know. Lol wow it's really late._

**B: I could so totally ditch and like, not go. And we can continue talking? Yeah, I like that idea better**

_C: Stop.You aren't making this easier lol I'll still be here after your classes. Lucky for you, I have nothing tomorrow :)_

**B: Finnnee :-(**

**B: Good night Chloe. I'll text you when I wake up from this nap haha**

_C: Sounds like a plan! Good night Becs, sleep well :)_

Beca is going to be honest real quick. Ending this day long conversation with Chloe wasn't an easy thing to do. She had to plug her phone in the outlet across her room, away from her bed because she wanted to keep texting Chloe.

Her heart is warm and tingly, and she couldn't for the life of her get that cheesy, stupid grin off her face that she is sure is plastered on there for life. Sleeping as well was literally impossible with the swarming thoughts of Chloe that seemed to be never ending.

She gets up from bed and goes over to her laptop before sitting down at her desk. Opening up twitter, she composes a new tweet.

If she can't get her thoughts out of her head, might as well write them out in the open for everyone else to see.

_There's this girl and god, does she have my head spinning like a carousel. Anybody have any special tips to get someone amazing out of their head? I'd really like to go to sleep sometime soon without smiling like an idiot._

And then she clicks send and the tweet is on her dash for everybody to see in a blink of an eye.

What on earth is she gonna do about this girl?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some odd reason, can totally picture Chloe Beale with a gigantic dog that's scary as shit but is a total cupcake lol  
> What did you guys think? I hope so far the characters sound realistic, thank for those who said they were! :)  
> I'll try posting another update this week because I'm high key excited for the next one :D


	5. New Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with another chapter guys! This one has to be my favorite so far :) Also, it's about time we switch over to Chloe's POV ;) Time zones can be hard to read but remember, Chloe's time is three hours ahead of Beca's. Just fyi :)  
> Now, on with the show!

_The sun is shining bright through the cracks of Chloe's blinds, allowing the heat from the rays warm her skin where it isn't covered by her teal comforter. Spread out like a starfish with a pillow under every limb, including her slightly drooling mouth, Chloe stirs around comfortably._

_She's in bed still, surprising, as it is way pass the normal and usual time she gets up when she has no class for the day. Hardly ever, does she sleep in, especially this late-even if she was out the previous night drinking her liver away that would definitely require a day's worth of hibernation through that inevitable bitch of a hangover. But now, it had to be no later than noon, possibly even one._

_Looks like her "morning run" would have to suffice to an "afternoon" one._

_What a day's waste of so many activities._

_She gets up after a good minute of solid stretching, limbering up her stiff body with constant pops in the joints and a monstrous yawn. She doesn't know where Tank is as she scans her empty room. Usually he sleeps right next to her during the night so they can cuddle like they always do-that is unless she has company for the night. Then he usually sleeps with Aubrey or in the living room where his dog bed is._

_But God, what a joke that was. Having company._

_Lol._

_She hasn't had a person over in her room let alone her house in months- though, let's not repeat that out loud._

_The bathroom is her first stop before she goes downstairs. She fixes her hair in the mirror, notes that her skin is glowing for some odd reason and skips out on brushing her teeth because the smell of freshly brewed coffee and smoked bacon hit her senses from the upstairs and she figures that Aubrey is cooking breakfast._

_Just kidding lunch._

_Wow, waking up this late feels so_ _**weird** _ _._

" _Bree?" she calls out, walking out of her room and shutting her bedroom door from behind. There's no response but Chloe can make out the faint playing of Meghan Trainor on the kitchen speaker and the sound of someone singing beautifully in the background. It isn't Aubrey's voice Chloe discovers since this singing is a lot deeper and definitely not soprano range like her best friend's. However, the voice is rawly beautiful, and is a sound that Chloe can get lost in forever._

_Not that she would complain._

_Half of Chloe tells her that she should run upstairs and dial 911 before she gets axed to death, saying that there is an intruder in her apartment and her best friend might or might not be already dead. And God she doesn't even want to think about what this person has done to her dog. He's ginormous for sure but you know that saying, "all bark no bite?" Yeah, that's Tank for yah._

_The other half of her though, tells her that she should go the rest of the way down the stairs and see who the mysterious person is, discover who's behind those lovely vocals. So, following her dare devil side, she finishes her journey down the stairs until she is peeking around the corner into the kitchen and she's smacked in the face by a familiar brunette._

_That height and voice, those ears….piercings, and God, those tattoos?_

" _Beca?" The brunette turns around with a spatula in her hand and pancake mix just under her chin that makes Chloe want to brush off._

_She's smiling when she locks eyes with a stunned redhead around the corner. "Hey you." Chloe's crazy. Yup, full on batshit wacko who's hallucinating right now. What the hell is going on? And is Beca wearing one of her shirts? "I hope you're hungry because I made a buffet of food."_

_Beca chuckles before resuming her duties at the stove and Chloe doesn't know what to do. Doesn't know what to say and doesn't know how to react. Her body is telling her to scream and jump up and down with excitement. Probably tackle the smaller girl because she is actually_ _**here**_ _. Like, right here in an arm's reach of where Chloe stands. But sadly it's like her limbs forgot how to function properly and she can't for the life of her move a single muscle to do so._

" _Are you okay?" Beca asks with a small snicker over her shoulder when she sees Chloe's frozen form. Her eyebrows raise suspiciously. "You're acting weird."_

 _Call her crazy but last time Chloe talked to Beca it was through her cell phone. The virtual world of technology. Not this face to face crap where she can actually_ _ **see**_ _and_ _ **hear**_ _her voice in person. Yeah, that's a pretty valid excuse to act "weird" ghost Beca._

" _I uh…-" Chloe shakes her head back and forth, trying to knock the craziness out of her. "-yeah. Like….totes." What were they even talking about? Did she hit her head before she went to bed?_

 _Beca slides the last few pancakes on the plate she is holding in her right hand and sets them down on the counter. Chloe's eyes stay glued to literally everything but her face, and more so the fact that it_ _ **is**_ _her shirt Beca is wearing and that she is almost positive it looks ten times better on the brunette then it does on herself._

 _Scratch that, it_ _ **does**_ _look better on Beca._

_Which means that Beca was in her room! Also, that probably explains why Tank was MIA this morning because Chloe did have a guest last night._

_Not that she remembers anything that happened. Hell, she doesn't even remember drinking last night. Or maybe picking up Beca from the airport._

_And back to the shirt now. How is it not a crime to look that sexy in a ripped up, faded, Rolling Stones shirt, cooking breakfast with pancake batter smeared on her chin, with her hair perfectly curled over her shoulders and makeup highlighting her dark blue eyes-and oh **god** she's coming closer!_

" _You look hot this morning," Beca cooes as she slowly closes the distance between her and Chloe. "All crazy, and what not." And then she is right in front of Chloe, pulling at the hem of the redhead's sleep shirt, biting her bottom lip and Chloe's forgets how to breathe._

 _Beca leans in closer, her face just hovering over Chloe's and she can feel the DJs fingers skim her skin above her sweatpants with cold fingertips. Beca's eyes flash down to Chloe's lips before lifting them up again to meet Chloe's and she catches it last second. Dilated eyes that look oh_ _ **so**_ _much better than in the photos she has spent days just admiring._

_They're going to kiss._

_Oh my Lord they're going to kiss!_

_Chloe concludes this when Beca inches her lips closer to her's, just enough where she can feel the warm puffs of air spread against her mouth. Chloe has been fantasizing about this moment since the first day she talked to Beca and now, it was actually going to happen._

" _Good morning beautiful." Is the last thing Chloe hears from Beca before their lips collide in a fire burning kiss that electrocutes every inch of skin on her body. She sighs heavily once her lips connects with Beca's and wow, so much better in person rather than her fantasies._

_Well, though she thought._

_Beca is using quite a lot of tongue in this kiss and usually Chloe would be all for it but this is just plain out aggressive._

_And ew, why is there so much saliva?_

" _ **Chloe!"**_

_Where is that voice coming from and why does it sound a lot like Aubrey?_

" _ **Chloe!"**_

She snaps her eyes open from where she was laying in bed and nearly jumps to the ceiling when the first thing she sees is Tank, giving her a full face bath with his tongue.

"Eww!" Chloe turns her face away from his strong licks but only to have the dog do the same to her neck. "Tank…. Stop!" She giggles because it actually tickles where he is licking.

"Good boy, Tank." Aubrey is also in the room, wearing a smug smirk and Chloe can see her dressed in her doctor get up. "Is there a reason why you're sleeping till 3 in the afternoon?"

Well, at least there was one thing true about her dream and that was she wasted a whole day sleeping her life away. If only the second part was true as well because sadly, there's no Beca in sight.

"Is it seriously three?" Chloe sits up quickly and glances over to her clock. Turns out, it is not only 3 but almost 3:30. "Why didn't you wake me?" she says through a yawn, stretching her arms over her head with a long groan.

"I tried, several times in fact but Jesus you're a heavy sleeper." Aubrey snickers and Chloe shrugs. Nothing she doesn't already know. Plus, she went to sleep super late last night so sleeping in made a lot more sense now. "That's when I went with plan B and brought Tank up here to do the honors." Chloe smiles at her dog, who is now laying by her side on the bed, licking his paws as she pets his head. "Seems like you were having quite the dream before we came up." Aubrey raises her eyebrows and Chloe tries to hide her face at the memory of her dream. She can't even lie and say that having Beca in her house, so close to her body-her lips, didn't crank up some uncomfortable heat all over her body. "Wanna elaborate?"

"No," That's the last thing Chloe wants to do. She wants to keep her friend as far out of her head as possible. "I just….didn't go to sleep until like 6 in the morning. Probably why I was so out of it."

"Is there a reason why you went to sleep so late?" Shit, Aubrey is on to her. "And does this reason so happen to rhyme with Teca?"

"No…." Chloe responds but let's face it, the word doesn't sound a smidge believable.

"You know you're a terrible liar." Aubrey cuts Chloe's shit real quick. "One of the many gifts of being a ginger. You can't hide a blush or a lie without your face turning the same color as your hair."

" **Bark**!" Tank chips in his word and let's out a loud bark that echoes through Chloe's room.

A grin slides its way onto Aubrey features. "See, even Tank agrees with me."

"Fineee," Chloe gives up, flailing her hands up in the air. "I was up all night talking to Beca," she admits, rolling her eyes when Aubrey responds with something under her breath along the lines of, "I knew it." "Gee Tank, I thought you'd have my back." Chloe gives her dog a scowl and all he does is whimper into his paws that try to hide his face.

"You don't even know her, Chloe," Aubrey says and Chloe rolls her eyes, again. They have already been through this talk multiple times. Why doesn't she just let it go? "Doesn't she have like, 500k followers?"

"Depends on what we are talking about. YouTube she has too much to even count as far as subscribers. Twitter, she has 3m and Instagram I'm pretty sure she just hit 5m." Chloe corrects nonchalantly.

"However many she has, it doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is that she is popular. Very popular if those numbers are right and because she is, I don't want you to get your hopes up."

"What do you mean by getting my hopes up?" Chloe snaps; she doesn't mean to but it just comes out that way because if she were to guess, she'd think that Aubrey is hinting that she isn't worthy enough to date Beca.

"She lives in LA Chloe! We live in Georgia. She's a rising DJ who talks and meets with millions of people everyday. Do you honestly think she'll stick around for a small town music teacher who lives thousands of miles away? No offence."

"Non taken," Chloe grumbles and starts to play with Tanks ears, trying not to let the irritation show through her body language. It sounds like Aubrey is trying to tell her she isn't worthy enough to date Beca.

"Listen Chloe." Aubrey sits up from Chloe's bedroom chair and moves over to the bed. "I'm happy you have someone to talk to, really. But, I don't want you to get hurt if her image is the same as her ego. Girl doesn't look like she can be trusted with all that eyeliner."

 _I think it's super cute._ Chloe thinks to herself. "It's fine Aubrey. _I'll_ be fine." She gives a reassuring smile, squeezing the blonde's forearm. "You going to class?" She changes the subject before any more interrogation happens from her friend.

"Yeah I have clinicals today so I'll be gone till tonight. Jesse and Tom are going out for beers later, you wanna join?" Chloe fights the urge to scrunch her face at the mention of Tom with a fake smile. Does she wanna join? Absolutely not. "Tom is sweet, I know he wasn't in college and you have every right to be hesitant about hanging with him but, he changed. Also, it's about time you get back on that dating train again. I really don't want to come home from class one day and see a few dozen cats crawling around."

Chloe's mouth gapes and she covers Tank's ears where she was petting with both of her hands. "You know I am a dog person, how dare you!"

Aubrey barks out a laugh before getting up, patting Tank on the belly. "Joking!" She raises her hands up in defense as she walks to Chloe's opened door. "Just think about Tom. I know something is there between you guys. Hell, have you seen yourself these past few days? It's like there's a permanent smile on your mouth and I think Tom might be the reason."

Gag, definitely not Aubrey. Please. The only reason she has been in such a good mood lately is because of Beca and honestly, the double date was the last time Chloe has even thought about Tom.

She couldn't tell Aubrey that, of course, because you saw how the blonde reacted when Chloe just told her that she spent all day yesterday talking to the DJ. It was like lecture 101. Chloe can't even imagine what mouthful Aubrey would have to say if she told her best friend that she didn't want to date anybody because she is saving herself for Beca.

Also, she might have a fairly large crush on the girl and it's scary enough to even think about.

"Just think about Tom, okay?"

Chloe nods her head with her best fake smile (shaking her head no mentally) and says her goodbyes to Aubrey. She wishes her a good day and when she hears the front door close, she reaches for her cellphone and checks her unread messages.

An instant smile spreads across her mouth when she sees that majority of them are from Beca.

_**Tuesday August 23, 10:55 AM** _

**B: Good morning :-)**

**B: I hope you are sleeping well because I'm off to my 8AM … Kill me.**

_**Tuesday August 23, 12:54 PM** _

**B: I may or may not be dosed up on red bull to stay awake in class right now. Thought you said you'd entertain me.**

_**Tuesday August 23, 2:57 PM** _

**B: Seriously Beale? It's like** **noon here so it has to be close to 3 there. And you say I sleep all day :-P**

_**Tuesday August 23, 3:42 PM** _

_C: Good afternoon Beca! :) I slept lovely, thanks for asking ;)_

**B: SHE'S ALIVE.**

_C: miss me that much? ;)_

**B: is it wrong if I did?**

Chloe laughs to herself, her heart growing at least ten times its size and her smile stretching almost off her face. Tank hears this and lifts his head up from Chloe's bedsheet to stare at her, doing one of his dog whimpers and causes Chloe to tear her gaze off her screen.

"What?" Chloe cocks her head, smile never once fading. "Don't look at me like that." Tank continues to stare at her without even a blink until he is moving into Chloe's lap, causing the redead to groan at the extra weight. " _Hmph_! Tank.." Totally not a lapdog that's for sure.

Clearly ignoring the fact that he is way too big to be sitting in Chloe's lap and basically crushing his owner, he leans his face in close and Licks Chloe over and over again.

"Am I not showing you enough attention?" Chloe giggles, allowing the dog to lick both sides of her cheeks. When he is finished, another bark booms through the room. "Okay fine. You caught me." Chloe drops her phone next to her thigh and ruffles Tank's face with that same face splitting smile.

"I think I'm falling for her too."

* * *

_**Tuesday August 23, 7:21 PM** _

**B: Are you still working out?**

**B: If you are can you like, stop?**

**B: Or sending me a picture of you in shorts and a sports bra would be great as well**

_C: Nope, just finished actually :) Perfect timing!_

_C: Oh darn. I just changed ;)_

**B: Damn...**

**B: I'm bored and needed some reliable opinions about songs.**

_C: I'm all ears :D_

**B: I'm trying to stay away from mashups right now. Try something new so I can send a demo in for an internship at Atlantic Records**

**B: I already applied for the position but if I do get the spot, I'd like to have a few in pocket to hand over**

**B: So, I need, in your opinion, a popular song at the moment.**

_C: Wow! That's exciting! :D_

_C: Easy, Lean On by Major Lazer :)_

**B: Hmmm**

**B: Good choice.**

_C: Can I hear it once you're done? :)_

**B: I swore a promise that I'd show Stacie before I showed anyone else but after her, of course you can :-)**

_C: Deal! :)_

_C: I'm excited for you Beca :)_

**B: Thanks Chlo :-)**

* * *

_**Wednesday August 24, 8:32 AM** _

_C: I bet you're asleep right now because one, it's 5 in California time and two, we stayed up late once again. This time 3 instead of 4 though. Progress ;)_

_C: You really need to stop being so damn entertaining so I can get my sleep schedule back ;)_

_C: Well, enjoy your snooze for these three hours until you have class. I'll be busy teaching kids :)_

_**Wednesday August 24, 1:12 PM** _

**B: I think we are at that point were we should exchange schedules. Just like in high school ;-)**

**B: But Wednesdays, I have no class.**

_C: And you woke up before noon?! Are pigs flying right now? ;D_

**B: HA so funny!**

**B: Not.**

**B: But I decided to set my alarm for 10 (9 was pushing it) and work on my mix. I either have transitions and basslines stuck in my head or you.**

**B: Smh, can't catch a break.**

_C: Oh so now that tweet from a few nights back makes sense ;)_

_C: Thought I was going to have to go crazy ginger on some girl that was running through your mind who wasn't me_

_C: But turns out, it was ;)_

**B: Shut it Beale.**

Chloe takes the time with this new information to log into her twitter. First though, she makes sure to like Beca's tweet from a few nights back, noticing that already the tweet has 12k likes and retweets and begins to read all the comments left from her fans as well.

" _Omg! Who is it?!"_

" _Beca Mitchell has a girlfriend!?"_

" _Can someone answer me? Who is she dating and since when?"_

" _Is it wrong to feel jealous of this mystery girl?!"_

Chloe laughs at the borderline crazy fans Beca has and can't help but feel a little giddy that it's _**her**_ who's behind the tweet. That _**she's**_ the culprit who has this DJ's head spinning out of control. It's a strangely weird feeling, but nonetheless still enjoyable.

She decides to have a little fun with the fans and opens up a new tweet box to reply to Beca's.

_Last time I checked, my amusement park didn't come with a carousel ;) Also, too much spinning may cause nausea so, you should probably get this girl off your mind before that happens ;)_

It's silly and doesn't really make any sense now that Chloe has delivered the tweet and has the chance to reread it but it's something to stir the fans up a bit. Get their heads guessing and what not.

**B: Chloe Beale. Commenting on my stuff so soon?**

_C: Couldn't resist. Plus, I AM the one who is behind the tweet now am I? ;)_

_C: Gives me total rights to comment!_

**B: Awkward, I was totally talking about that hot girl from Gossip Girl….**

_C: NO YOU WEREN'T! Lol!_

Her phone lights up with a different notification and she sees that Beca retweeted and liked her tweet. Knowing this was an open gate to craziness from Beca's fans, she clicks on the brunette's profile, going in with one eye squinted to view her mentions.

" _Who is this Chloe Beale?"_

" _Guys, she's dating this girl Chloe!"_

" _Who's the hot ginger?"_

" _Ugh, Beca can do so much better."_

Really? It hasn't even been five minutes and her fans are already jumping to conclusions. Also now that she reads the comments in depth, Beca can do better?

Beca can do _**better**_?

"As if!" Chloe angrily shouts as she reads the comment before clicking to this person's page. If you wanna play this game based off of looks then why not take a peek at your pictures. This was pretty much pointless since this hater has no profile pic, which is only an egg and barely even had any tweets for Chloe to snoop on. What gives them the right to comment saying Beca could do much better? Chloe was hot, Hell she gets told that all the time.

Not to be conceited or anything.

But still, she knows she's attractive and has loads of confidence about her looks for back up.

Oh well.

She guesses that these mean comments will only continue to occur now that Beca's fans have an idea as to who Beca is talking to.

**B: Really caused the commotion didn't cha?**

_C: Hey, I just wanted a little fun since I love fun ;)_

_C: I'm gaining your followers by the second Beca...And also, what the Hell is a ship? And why are they shipping us?_

**B: Guess we are the new OTP**

_C: … and what's that? You still haven't answered my first question!_

**B: One True Pairing. Kinda like they want us to get together**

**B: Ship Beca and Chloe. Want Beca and Chloe to date.**

**B: You know?**

_C: Well they aren't the only ones ;)_

**B: What's that suppose to mean?**

**B: Chloe!**

_C: Sorry, gotta go walk Tank! Text you after! Xo ;)_

**B: WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THAT!**

* * *

_**Thursday August 25, 6:00 AM** _

_C: Okay it's WAYYY early but I forgot to tell you last night that I have a lesson plan today and won't be done until 6 tonight :( I just wanted to let you know before you think I'm ignoring you :-P_

_C: This is the first day we won't spend the entire day talking. How sad :(_

_C: Also, I gained like over a thousand followers last night and wow, they're demanding lol. It's kinda intimidating how much they are pushing us to date._

_C: Maybe you should listen to your fans ;)_

_C: Okay well I'll stop blowing up your phone. Have a good day and learn a lot! :D_

* * *

"Thanks Ms. Beale!" All the kids around the classroom began to pack up their stuff to meet their parents outside. Chloe waves them goodbye before cleaning up the instruments and trash laying around the room. Shocker, the kids didn't pick up anything.

Today's plan was hard. Probably one of her hardest. Working with a whole new age group was something that Chloe wasn't mentally prepared for. She loves her major more than anything, especially when she gets to sing and dance to music on a daily basis. That's basically heaven for Chloe but right now, as she experiments with different schools and grade levels, she wishes nothing more but to drop out of school and maybe take up that exotic dancing instead. At least then she wouldn't have to deal with bratty kids who act like they're too cool to do anything remotely fun.

Chloe clears off the board and grabs her stuff, locking the door on her way out. All she wanted to do now was go home, take a long shower and just curl up in bed all night, wishing for the day to be over.

She unlocks her car when she sees it in the distance and when she makes it to the driver's seat, she pulls out her phone. It doesn't shock her with the amount of missed messages from Beca, Aubrey and even Tom that flooded her notifications when she finally turned the device on after it being off all day, but part of her only cares about Beca's enough to read and respond.

_**Thursday August 25, 10:34 AM** _

**Tom: you free for tonight?**

_**Thursday August 25, 2:34 PM** _

**Bree: Going out with Jesse tonight. Won't be home till late. I walked Tank and took out the trash. Also there's leftover Chinese for you to eat**

She glances at these messages quickly before clicking out of them.

Nothing important there.

_**Thursday August 25, 10:35 AM** _

**Beca: All day?**

**B: These don't come that often do they? I hope not.**

**B: And hey, they're your fans now too. In it together Beale. Signed that contract when you commented on my tweet ;-)**

**B: Well, I hope you have a good day. Text me when you're done?**

_**Thursday August 25, 2:54 PM** _

**B: I miss you already and I have 3 more hours to go.**

**B: Well, I'll work on the last bit of my mix. It's coming out good. I'll show you when it's finished.**

_**Thursday August 25, 3:46 PM** _

***New Audio Attachment from Beca Mitchell***

**B: I want honest opinions.**

_**Thursday August 25, 4:57 PM** _

**B: I think I'm going through bubbly redhead withdrawals.**

**B: I'm counting down this last hour until I get to talk to you again**

Chloe pretty much squeals like a little girl at the message, knowing for sure it's Beca's new mix. Without hesitation, she clicks on the attachment, reaches into her purse and grabs her headphones before plugging them into her phone. The link takes her straight to Beca's private soundcloud and how fast she presses play is alarming.

The song is great. God, it's more than great, if that's even possible. The vocals blend perfectly with the new beats, the overall speed increases but Chloe is positive the faster, the better and the drop is enough to make her hips start to move in her car's seat as she sits alone in an empty parking lot, listening to Beca's new and very impressive remix. The song itself was great before but now, it's nowhere near close to how good Beca's truly is.

_**Thursday August 25, 6:10 PM** _

_C: I have soooo much to say right now so brace yourself._

**B: Wait!**

**B: I missed you :-) And glad you're finally done.**

**B: Okay, proceed.**

It's sickening how much this message affects Chloe's insides. She basically feels like she is melting away at Beca's sweetness.

_C: Your song is AMAZING! I'm actually loading it up on my laptop right now so I can download it to my ipod. I'll have you know that I still haven't left the school and I am awkwardly sitting in my car in a deserted parking lot. Feel special ;)_

_C: But really, your song is….I can't even find the right words to explain it! You, Beca Mitchell, are so talented it's scary. Seriously, it's mind blowing what you can do. Pure talent :) Any record label who won't take you is out of their damn mind because you madam are a rare cookie_

_C: And lastly, I missed you too, a lot. :)_

**B: I should stop asking for opinions from you because you never fail to make me feel on top of the world.**

**B: If anyone asks, I'm blaming you for my big head ;-)**

**B: Thank you Chloe, honestly. It means a lot coming from you.**

_C: Of course Beca and I'll take full credit because someone with your amount of talent deserves to have a big head. Flaunt it buttercup ;)_

**B: Ew…..not the name again.**

_C: Lol! You love it ;)_

**B: Brb while I go barf.**

_C: God I missed you. Just seeing your messages made my day like a billion times better :)_

**B: Not a good day?**

_C: No, it sucked._

**B: Go ahead.**

_C: What?_

**B: I know you want to vent and I'm all ears.**

**B: Go ahead and hit me with it**

_C: I just don't understand how some parents raise their kids without teaching them manners. I went up a grade level, usually I'm teaching younger kids but my class wants their teachers to teach at all ages so I was put with seventh graders. First, teenagers suck. And I can't believe I use to be one. Second, do they ever get off their phones? Like seriously, when I was at their age, I barely knew what technology was. I didn't get my first phone till high school and even then, it was a Nokia. You know like those prehistoric brick phones? Yeah, that was mine. Not this ipad, iphone bullcrap that they are using. And lastly, I enjoy teaching younger kids because they don't have these egos they have to protect. Since when is singing a stupid thing to do? One kid even came up to me and said my class was "whack." When did kids start talking like that?_

_C: Ugh, they were just so rude and one thing about me is that I dislike rude people._

_C: I'm sorry. I know that was an ear full._

**B: Don't be sorry. I like listening to how your day was, even if it was a pretty rough one.**

**B: I'm sorry though you had a bad day. Kids are assholes. Straight up. It's like the older you get up on the chain, the bigger assholes they are. Don't let egotistic punks get in the way of your teaching because I bet you're a phenomenal music teacher. Next time, just smack them around with your rock phone ;-)**

_C: I bet it's not a shock that I'm smiling like crazy right now since that's all I seem to do when I talk to you :)_

_C: But goodness I needed that laugh lol Thank you Beca :)_

**B: Anytime Chloe, you know that :-)**

_C: That's enough venting for today, how are you? :)_

**B: Pretty good**

_C: Just pretty good? I was expecting like a wonderful because you made a totally kick ass song! :D_

_C: Or that you're finally talking to me ;)_

**B: Haha okay guilty. My day did get a hell of a lot better when I saw a text from you :-)**

**B: Also I uhhhh, got that internship at Atlantic**

_C: WHAT!?_

_C: Are you serious?!_

**B: Haha yeah! They called me this morning.**

**B: I start Monday :-)**

_C: Omg omg omg omg omg! That's awesome Beca! :D_

_C: Gahhh I'm so excited for you!_

**B: It's nothing too big haha**

_C: Nothing too big?! Are you crazy?!_

**B: Maybe a little.**

**B: I feel like you're being super aggressive with the amount of exclamation marks. I'm gonna need you to like….chill ;-)**

_C: Why in the world didn't you say anything earlier instead of listening to me complain about boring stuff like my bratty kids?! This is way better news to talk about!_

**B: Because you had a bad day and I wanted to hear why.**

**B: Maybe make you feel better... I don't know.**

**B: I like hearing about your day :-)**

**B: So don't you dare call it boring and something not important enough to talk about. Anything that goes on in your day is important.**

_C: Stop it._

**B: Stop what?**

_C: Making me feel like a teenager again. I feel like my face is going to turn permanently red if I keep blushing this much…_

**B: Red looks good on you :-)**

_C: STOP._

**B: Haha okay okay. I'm done**

**B: For now..**

_C: Ugh! Whatever…. :)_

_C: I'm really proud of you Beca._

_C: And Tank here is too :D_

**B: Thanks Chlo.**

**B: Both of you guys :-)**

* * *

_**Friday August 26, 6:49 PM** _

**B: It's only a week into school and the amount of homework I have is worrying.**

**B: Wanna do it for me?**

_C: Uh No!_

_C: You wanna do MY homework? I have to prepare some type of group activity for my students next week and I'm getting nowhere :(_

**B: Do a research project**

**B: Like, split your class into different groups based on their favorite genre of music. Pop, country, rap, jazz etc. Then, in each group have them discuss an influential person that has made an impact on that genre and make a poster or something.**

_C: … where did that come from?_

_C: That's a great idea! Thanks Becs :D_

_C: Why aren't you a teacher? ;)_

**B: Two reasons, kids and public speaking.**

**B: Not a fan.**

_C: You do know when you get big in the music industry you're gonna have to participate in quite a bit of public speaking, right? ;)_

_C: And kids aren't that bad when you've found the right ones. Some of them, yes, can be awful!_

**B: IF I get big, then I'll work on my public speaking. Till then, I'll hide in my shell like a snail whenever I have to talk out loud**

_C: You ARE going to get big Beca, I can see it :)_

_C: You've listened to you stuff right?_

**B: Kinda have no other choice since I have to hear it to make it :-P**

_C: You really weren't lying when you said your middle name is sarcasm ;)_

**B: I warned yah.**

**B: Too late to leave now though. You're stuck with me and my sarcasm for a long time, Beale, whether you like it or not**

_C: Good thing I LOVE it :)_

_C: What are you doing?_

**B: Scanning the fridge for something to eat.**

**B: So far, there's nothing.**

_C: Didn't you and Stacie just go shopping? :P_

**B: Yes but living in an apartment with an amazon woman, the food goes rather quickly**

**B: You've seen the legs on that girl right? She has to keep them toned somehow haha**

_C: Who hasn't seen her legs? ;)_

**B: Hey.**

**B: Don't check out my best friend.**

**B: What if I started talking about Aubrey like that? :-(**

_C: I'd agree with you because Bree is HAWT ;D_

**B: Ugh. Annoying**

_C: Lol! Just kidding buttercup ;)_

**B: Bye**

**B: Muting you.**

_C: COME BACKKKKK :(_

_C: Becaaaaaaaaaaaa_

_C: Becaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :((((((_

**B: Excuse ma'am. I think you have the wrong number.**

**B: This is Beca. Not Stacie the goddess with nice long legs.**

_C: No, I have the right number. I wanna talk to the super sexy DJ with short, adorable legs ;)_

**B: She's not here either….**

**B: ;-)**

_C: You are something Mitchell ;)_

**B: Something great, I know.**

**B: Speaking of Stacie, she's hosting a party here to celebrate my new internship at Atlantic.**

_C: That seems super fun :D_

**B: Yeah, it should be.**

**B: I wish you could come though.**

_C: Me too :(_

_C: You do know that if I came, you'd be on the dancefloor all night right? ;)_

**B: Yeah**

**B: Maybe then I'd have a reason to actually like dancing.**

_C: Don't worry. I'd make sure you'd leave the floor loving it :)_

**B: So I was online and there's a flight in an hour from Georgia to LA, I think you'd be able to make it before the party.**

**B: The airline is kinda sketch but that's alright. If the plane shakes too much, just close your eyes**

_C: LOL!_

_C: You won't be able to dance with me if I'm dead in an ocean Beca ;)_

**B: DON'T SAY THAT.**

**B: And that's all I found on the internet :-(**

**B: Why can't you just teleport up here?**

_C: You and I both :(_

_C: Maybe soon I can arrange my schedule a little bit to fly out there._

_C: Just for one dance ;)_

**B: But I want you here now**

**B: Ugh.**

_C: You aren't making this any easier Beca :(_

_C: Go have fun at your party! You deserve it superstar :)_

_C: I'll text you in the morning to see if you're still alive ;)_

**B: Fine.**

**B: Can't promise that I'll have as much fun since you won't be here…**

**B: Sure you don't want this ticket?**

_C: Yes! Lol now go, or I'll never let you leave ;)_

_C: Talk to you later, be safe! ;)_

**B: Bye :-(**

* * *

_**Saturday August 26, 2:21 AM** _

Even though she would've rather talked to Beca all night long until the sun came up, she got a lot of her homework done and she even had some quality time with Aubrey as they binged watched One Tree Hill in their living room, stuffing their faces with pounds of chocolate ice cream found deep within the fridge.

And maybe she is a little bit more emotional that she isn't in LA, enjoying Beca's congratulation party but whatever. Aubrey didn't need to know that.

Thankfully, the blonde stopped harassing her about going on dates with Tom and respected that she wasn't looking for anybody to date. Tom is nice and all, a total sweetheart that any girl would be lucky to have.

Except, that girl isn't Chloe.

She sits on her bed after calling it quits with Aubrey, feeling that if she cries anymore she'll shrivel up. She is listening to music and painting her nails, not really knowing why she is up so late in the first place. She assumes that her body knows that she would've been up anyways talking to Beca, so why feel tired?

 _Oh Beca._ Chloe swoons.

She misses her.

A scary amount honestly and she even has to lock her phone up somewhere to keep herself from texting the brunette. Call her selfish but she doesn't enjoy not talking to Beca. It's like, if she can't talk to her, no one can.

But she knows that the girl has other things to do and can't revolve her life around Chloe. And it's not that Chloe wants her to do that.

She just wishes it was easier. This whole distance thing and what not.

Chloe faintly hears her phone vibrate against her desk and she gets up to see who it is since it isn't her text tone. It is her ringtone actually.

Who in their right mind is calling her this late at night?

She pulls her earbuds out and hobbles over to the desk, trying not to mess up the freshly applied dark blue nail polish on her toes in the process and almost has a stroke when she is finally able to see the crazy person who is calling her this late at night.

"Oh my God," Chloe gasps out loud, eyes almost popping out from her skull when she lifts her ringing phone to eye level so she can read the name on the screen better.

Beca is calling her.

Oh my God... Beca is calling her!

Realizing this, she forgets about her wet nail polish on her toes and nearly sprints out of her room and across the hall to get to Aubrey's. Screw her pedicure, it won't matter if she has a heart attack anyways.

"Bree!" Chloe bursts through the closed door, flipping on the bedroom's light- definitely not taking into consideration that Aubrey was in fact, sleeping and doesn't even notice that the blonde basically jumps ten feet out of her slumber and almost straight into the floor.

She tears up her pink sleep mask above her head, eyes the size of saucers. "Jesus, Chloe! Are you crazy!?" Aubrey's voice is panting in and out from Chloe's unannounced and very unwelcomed presence in her room and she is gripping her chest to settle her heart rate back to normal.

"Beca is calling, Bree!" Chloe is jumping up and down nervously on the balls of her feet, lifting her still lit up phone in her hand so the blonde could see. "What do I do?!"

"Uhh answer it?" Aubrey's response sounds like a question-like what Chloe is asking for is stupid.

"I can't just " _answer it_ ," Bree!" Chloe mocks in a teasing and harsh tone, earning a sharp eye roll from her friend. She feels the vibration shake through her hands and wow, she has never realized how long her phone rings. "Beca is _**calling**_ me! We have only texted!"

"Why does that matter?" Aubrey knits her eyebrows together suspiciously.

Finally, Chloe's phone stops going off and shows she has one missed call from Beca.

" _Whew_ ," Chloe exhales a fresh breath of relief, her body beginning to relax. She felt bad for ignoring Beca's call because in reality, she really wanted to talk to her, to be able to hear the brunette's voice after texting for so long. But also, she is slightly terrified and totally not calm enough to answer the phone without doing something embarrassing like maybe uh, pass out.

"Care to explain your near melt down?" Aubrey says, crossing her arms above her chest and raises one eyebrow up and Chloe knows that look. It's the signature Aubrey Posen's, "you've just been caught" stare.

Chloe sighs and takes a seat on the edge of Aubrey's bed. "Beca and I are kinda talking." She shrugs but doesn't make eye contact with the blonde and keeps her focus on her phone in her lap.

"Talking?" Aubrey repeats, not fully understanding what Chloe means. "Like, talking talking?" Chloe nods her head softly, mentally preparing for the mouth full that is destined to come her way. "As in possible dating between the two of you." Again, Chloe nods but it is shaky and hesitant. "Chloe!"

Oh boy, bring on the lecture. "Aubrey, I like her! A lot! I know she is a successful DJ that is super popular and can have any girl she wants but I know she is sincere about her feelings towards me!" Chloe explains bluntly and can't help but shift to becoming defensive over the brunette.

"Is that why you didn't want to go out with Tom?"

"Uh yeah. Tom's awesome but Beca's…... _awesomer_?" Chloe bites her lip, thinking about what she just said.

Is that even a word?

Aubrey's face settles back into worried friend mode instead of a stern, mother's death glare. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Chlo. Long distance isn't easy."

"I know." Boy does Chloe know. Just not being with Beca tonight in LA, to celebrate her internship was eating Chloe alive. All she wanted to do is enjoy the great news with the DJ but of course, she has to live on the other side of the country. "But, Bree I have serious feelings for this girl. Total toner for her."

Aubrey snorts, shaking her head. "I know, I can see it through your shorts." She points down, causing Chloe to look as well. "And you know I just want to see you happy, even though I don't fully support this long distance stuff. But, I can see that your mood has changed significantly over the past week and I know it is Beca who's doing this. Your long distance girlfriend."

"We aren't like…..dating," Chloe clears up, clearing her throat in the process. " _Yet_ … that is."

"Then why are you freaking out over a phone call?"

"Because it's scary! All these feelings I have towards her surface and I feel like once I answer the phone, I'll choke on all of them and sound stupid. Then, she'll never want to talk to me again and then here's me back in Georgia, the forever alone school teacher."

Chloe sounds like a drama queen. She knows. It makes her sick just hearing herself. Usually she doesn't get this nervous, especially over something like this. But the thought of talking to Beca over the phone makes her heart thump against her ribcage, threatening to break bones.

Aubrey is about to reply until Chloe's phone goes off and it's Beca again.

Glancing down and registering the name, "Oh my God she is calling again!"

"Chlo, you need to take the dramatics down a bit." Aubrey then does simple breathing exercises for the redhead, the ones a pregnant woman does when she is giving birth and continues this until Chloe's breathing evens, allowing her to talk as normal as possible instead of like she just got done running a triathlon. "Go into your room, and answer Beca's call. You'll be okay. I promise. Just pretend like...you're talking to me."

Chloe doesn't move right away, and just stares at Aubrey from where she is sitting at on the bed. Is this a symptom of shock? "Go! Before you miss this one too!" And she kicks up Chloe from the bed with her feet and watches the girl exit the room.

Chloe feels like she is going to either pass out, or throw up. Possibly both honestly.

She goes into her room and takes a seat on her bed, staring at Beca's name flash across her screen. The phone call has been ringing for quite a bit and Chloe knows she is running out of time. She can't miss this second phone call from Beca.

With one last deep breath in, she slides the call to the right and brings the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As for Beca's remix its on YouTube and done by Trap Nation and called, Major Lazer & DJ Snake (CRNKN Remix) CHECK IT OUT :D


	6. New Gifts

_**Saturday August 26, 2:34 AM** _

"Hello?"

Oh my God this is really happening.

Chloe couldn't hide the shake in her voice when picking up the phone and starts to speak into the device, her nerves rising up from the pool in her gut-like a volcano and Jesus, she thinks she is going to be sick.

And trust Chloe when she says this, she isn't a nervous person that often to have the excuse to act like this, and honestly, she loves meeting new people. All the time. It's actually one thing- other than staying up all night, juiced up on coffee to finish homework, learning every drinking game known to man and not drinking pass her liver count- that she has truly perfected in college- which awarded her with so many friends.

If Chloe Beale was reincarnated into an animal, it would be a dog, because of how friendly and eager she is to meet new people. But right now, she wanted to hide. Hide under a very large rock and probably never come out.

Talking to Beca on the phone was exhilarating and something she has thought about it happening for a very long time now. Ever since they started talking of course, it became a daily thing. It always made her think of endless questions that's for sure.

_I wonder if her voice sounds the same as how I'm picturing it through text._

_Is it deep and raspy? Or soft and sweet, kinda like mine?_

_Does she sound her age?_

_I wonder how her laugh sounds._

_Will she be nervous, and I'll be able to point out the cracks in her voice?_

These are all things Chloe is _dying_ to find out, and maybe she would've been more prepared if she knew that Beca was planning on calling her instead of freaking out like she is currently doing now. But soon, all of those questions are going to be answered and though it's scary as Hell, Chloe is anxious.

Almost _too_ anxious.

Especially since it's been an awkwardly long time since she picked up the phone and still, there is still no reply coming from the other line.

"Hellooo?" So, she tries again, maybe a little louder and clearer than before, just in case Beca didn't hear her over the constant thumping of her heartbeat rising up and in her throat.

Still, no response.

But, Chloe can her bottles of some type of glass clanking around faintly, under the muffled music blaring in the background. People are yelling absolute nonsense that Chloe can't really understand fully, nor make out but what she can pick up from the amount of noise is that there is a lot of people and Beca is definitely still at the party.

" _ **Get another shot for Beca!"**_

Chloe can make out the voice this time, plus what they said and it sounds like a girl, not Beca, but the voice had an Australian accent. Maybe British. She doesn't know for sure. They sound way too similar, especially over the phone.

"Beca?" Chloe says again, but is almost positive that the girl butt dialed her-which is kinda refreshing in a sense but also, depressing. She didn't feel this way when she first answered her phone if we remember Chloe's previous panic attack but now, she really wants to talk to Beca.

" _ **No Amy I drank pass my limit! I'm five foot, Jesus, are you trying to kill me?!"**_ Chloe gasps loudly, full on air sucked right out of lungs and she slaps her hand to cover her mouth- like she just heard the president speak or something.

 _That_ was Beca.

Beca is actually talking through the phone and Chloe could hear her

Yes, it wasn't towards her because….you know, Chloe was butt dialed and all but still. It was actually Beca's voice.

And God, was it everything Chloe imagined it would be.

" _ **Another drink for the big BM!"**_ The sounds of cheers and Beca laughing in protest is heard through Chloe's cellphone and all Chloe can do is shake her head to try to get rid of the amount of envy her body is producing, covering it up with a smile. The party sounds really fun and she is glad Beca is enjoying it.

"Beca, I'm hanging up if you can hear me." Chloe laughs because she knows for a fact, Beca can't hear her under all the noise and once again assuming this is an accidental call. Her phone must be in her pocket she concludes.

Chloe doesn't really want to hang up now that she thinks about it. Simply with the possibility of missing out on hearing Beca talk some more, but if she stays on the line any longer, she might be a possible witness for Beca when she is in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.

Seriously though, this Amy girl is really testing Beca's tolerance with the hard liquor. And if Beca was anything like Chloe, since they're pretty close in height, she knows that after 4 shots and 3 drinks-maybe 5 shots if she ate before and got lucky- she'd be kayed. On the bathroom floor-or any floor really, calling it a night for good.

It makes her worry honestly. If Beca is safe, or whatever. She's a grown woman and can do whatever the Hell she wants, especially with the news she just received from the record label, but Chloe's protective. It's in her nature. She just hopes that Beca is smart and her friends don't push her too far. She'd be one angry redhead if something bad were to happen to that DJ.

She hangs up seconds after, laying down flat on her bed and releasing a breath that she didn't realize she was holding in.

That was very anticlimactic.

Beca probably won't even remember this in the morning, taking that she's already had way too much to drink. Chloe makes a mental note to remind her tomorrow-which will be a funny little story to talk about.

Their almost "phone call."

Seeing the low percentage on her battery, she twists her body so she can plug in her phone before getting up from her bed and walks over to the bathroom where she can brush her teeth before getting ready for bed. Two in the morning was probably a good time to hit the sack. It's not like she would be doing anything else except thinking about Beca all night. If she were to go to sleep, at least Beca would be off her mind.

Or so she hopes.

The whole process for getting ready to go to bed is done quickly and soon after exiting her bathroom, Chloe turns off the lights in her room with newly fresh and minty breath and squared, black glasses that she exchanged for the contacts she was wearing before. Her glasses case sits right next to her phone, as well as her retainer case-which yes, she still sleeps in. Ever since she gotten them, she's afraid that they'll go back to how they were if she were to stop- even though she had permission to stop wearing them in high school.

She's 27…..wearing a retainer. One that is pink, and one that's bent awkwardly and let's not talk about how sanitary it is because it's not.

If that doesn't scream attractive, she doesn't know what does.

After taking off her glasses and setting the case back on top of the table, her eyes close almost instantly once she gets comfortable, not realizing how tired she is and after a couple minutes, she begins to doze in and out of consciousness.

What happens next startles her as she wasn't expecting the boisterous sound of her ringtone to blare right next to her face, scaring her near to death when the vibration shakes through her table, knocking back and forth into her retainer case and glasses. Without really thinking, Chloe squints only one eye open when the bright light shines through her pitch black room and she knocks almost everything off her table as she slaps her dead weight hand onto the surface, trying to reach for her phone to answer whoever it is calling.

Finally after struggling for a bit, Chloe grabs her ringing phone and lifts the bright light to eye level, not that it mattered since she couldn't read the name anyways. Fun fact about Chloe, she's as blind as a bat. Literally, she can't read, or even see anything in an arm's distance without her glasses.

And somehow, while she was scrambling for her phone through the dark, her glasses must've got knocked straight off the table, and being way too tired to reach down there and play Velma to find them, she swipes right on her screen and answers the call, tossing the fact she has no idea who it is.

"H..hello?" Her voice is sleepy and it's like a mumble that's almost inaudible. Chloe's eyes start to get heavy again as she forces them open so, she rests her cellphone on the opposite ear that isn't laying down on the pillow and allows her eyes to drift shut completely.

" **Chloe?"**

A weak, exhausted groan of some sort comes next on Chloe's end. "This is her," she mumbles quietly with a heavy yawn and feels like she is drifting off back into sleep by the second. Whoever this is better talk fast because Chloe is about to pass out.

" **It's Beca."**

Just kidding. Totally just kidding.

Did she say sleep? She totally meant that she is going to spring out of bed like she has just awoken from the dead and feel her heart begin to thump against her chest because this isn't just "some person." No, it's freaking _Beca Mitchell_ and this time, it isn't a butt dial.

This is the real deal and Chloe doesn't even think about sleep anymore and actually anything else in that case.

Swallowing thickly and trying to regain her increasing breathing rate, "Beca?" She doesn't even know what to say, or how to start, _oh my God_. "Hey, what's up?"

" **Is that a lisp?"** Chloe hears Beca laugh and if this was any other time-literally, any other time, she'd think it is the sweetest damn noise that she has ever heard, but what on earth was Beca talking about? She doesn't have a lisp. " **I mean, it's hot for sure, totally not what I was expecting from you but I can dig."**

What is Beca talking about? "What are you talking abo…... _oh God_!" Chloe's eyes stretch wide when she finally understands what Beca is talking about and gets the chance to hear herself speak. She still has in her stupid retainer and kill her now because she is talking to Beca for their first time ever and she's over here sounding like Daffy Duck.

Great first impression. Nice job Chloe.

"Sorry.." She pulls out her retainer away from the speaker, just in case she makes any unattractive noises-which she does by the way, too much drool- and sets the plastic piece on the table. "It's uh…. nothing. Connection problems I think." Chloe lies. She'll tell Beca later about the retainer, not now. It's too soon. "Sorry."

" **Yeah probably….hold on a sec."** Chloe can hear the music in the background as well as all the extra voices slowly fade out except for Beca's. People scrambling around is all Chloe hears for a while until Beca's voice echoes through the phone again in a much more quiet setting. " **Is that better?"**

_Oh Hell yeah it is._

"Y-yeah." Chloe can actually _hear_ Beca's voice now without all the added background noises and scratch whatever crap she said about Beca's voice the first time she heard it through their phone call earlier tonight. That time has _nothing_ on how breathtaking Beca's voice actually sounds right now.

" **Were you sleeping? Because if you were, I'm not sorry. I now have you all to myself. And your sleep voice is super sexy by the way."**

Was that before or after the lisp?

She still can't get over how embarrassing that is. "I _was_ sleeping, for your information, but this is way better." Chloe gets herself comfortable on her bed, her nerves starting to wash away the longer she stays on the phone with Beca. Also, did Beca just call her voice sexy? "Not that I don't love that you called me super late at night-twice I might add, but shouldn't you be at your party?"

" **Twice? When was the first time?"**

"Like an hour ago. You butt dialed me. Then you called but I missed it."

Beca hums in thought. " **Uhhhh, No. Definitely not. I think you were just thinking about me too much and imagined the entire thing. Creepy…."**

Chloe laughs at this, "Shut up! You're just as mean to me through actual conversation than through text. Who's the one calling me this late at night huh? And you say I'm the one thinking about _you_ too much…...you do know it's two-almost three in the morning here?"

" **Wow. What are you doing up so late?"**

"You called _me,_ loser! Woke me up from my beauty sleep!" Chloe chuckles, unable to stop thinking how adorable Beca is being right now.

" **Like you need anymore of that, Beale. You're already too beautiful it physically hurts me to look at you,"** Beca ends her sentence with a sharp hiccup.

This hiccup indicates that one, Beca is drunk, way drunk, and two, her being drunk causes her to have zero to none filter, not that Chloe minds it because she loves getting complements because they make her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Especially from Beca.

Like they say, what a drunk person says out loud is a sober person's thoughts that they keep locked inside.

"Stop. I can barely handle you being sweet over text without turning to a pile of mush."

" **You deserve someone being sweet to you like, allllllll the time, giving you a novel worth of endless compliments on how great you are,"** Beca slurs adorably-which with anybody else, would be unattractive, but for Beca, Chloe just can't get enough. " **I can't get over hearing your voice right now though. I really didn't know what to expect but I didn't expect this."** And Chloe just swoons silently to herself, staring up towards the ceiling, asking, 'is this really happening right now?'

"Met your expectations, Mitchell?"

" **Oh yeah. Your voice is like a mixture between….angels, puppies if they could talk and like….awesome."**

"Thank you, Becs. Can we talk about your voice? And how it's a lot deeper than I imagined it would be. With you being so cute and tiny and all."

There's a good period of just silence taking over the call and Chloe has to check her screen to see if they got disconnect. But then, she hears Beca huff before responding, " **I'm hanging up on you."**

Chloe smiles wide hearing Beca speak again. "Noooooo! I'm sorry. I promise, no more height jokes."

" **You're lucky you are cute, Beale."**

"You can thank my mom and dad for that one."

" **Thank you Mr. And Mrs. Beale!"** Beca cheers loudly and drunkened, causing Chloe to giggle.

"You're something else, Mitchell…"

" **Again, you tell me that all the time. I know I'm pretty great."**

"And so modest, I forgot to mention." Chloe rolls her eyes though clearly, Beca can't see them. "What is the very talented DJ extraordinaire doing away from the party? You know it is just for you."

" **Well, people were asking me why I was so gloomy and I told them that this girl Chloe, who I'm talking to lives in BFE and isn't able to be here right now. Then, I was showing you off to my friends and maybe rubbed it in their faces that a girl like you was actually talking to dork like me. I bragged about you a lot, Beale."**

"You were telling your friends about me?" This is almost enough for Chloe's heart to burst right out of her chest with the amount of swelling it's going under.

" **Uh yeah. Of course."** Beca scoffed. " **You're pretty fucking great and deserve to be talked about. Plus, I loved everyone's reaction of pure jealousy when I showed them your picture. I definitely scored me a winner that's for sure."**

 _Focus Beale, Focus._ "Are you only saying these things because you're slightly under the influence?"

" **No, I mean every last word. I actually planned this...low key."**

"You planned on getting drunk? Which by the way, is my favorite of the Beca Mitchells."

" **Haha shut it. No, alcohol helps me say things that I'm not brave enough to say sober. Things like how I couldn't even go a full conversation tonight without mentioning you to somebody. Funny thing was..."** Another hiccup echoes through the line, " **they didn't even ask but I couldn't keep it to myself!"**

"You're too sweet." Chloe feels like her cheeks are going to fall off with how much she is smiling. They're starting to hurt an increasing amount but the pain is pleasurable. "Since we are on a complimenting spree, I have to pitch in my part and also a little confession of mine."

" **Oh no.."**

"Haha, it's nothing bad! I just maybe might've talked about you to my students when I had my lesson plan a few days ago. And I maybbbeeee showed them a little bit of your songs…"

Beca gasps, **"did I give you permission?!"**

"No but the kids wanted to listen to good music and since you make great music, this time I bragged about you a little."

" **All good things I hope."**

"Very good things, Becs. Lots of my kids are familiar with your mixes. One even asked if this was that hot DJ with all the piercings and tattoos."

" **Hot huh?"**

"Yes and don't repeat it," Chloe laughs. "I had to hide my jealousy not to go off on a 12 year old to show him his place."

" **I fucking love it when you're jealous. It's sexy."**

"Is that the drunk Beca talking? Because I don't think sober Beca would admit that," Chloe snickers, hiding the flush in her cheeks. Thank God Beca can't see. How many times has she been called sexy tonight?

" **And you would be correct… but give her time. She is trying! What are you doing?"**

"Talking to you since sleep isn't really happening in the moment, thanks to you."

**"Sorry not sorry. But if you're really tired, I'll let you go back to sleep. I just, couldn't take my mind off of you."**

Swoon. How many times is that already? "No it's fine. I'm happy you called. It's different from texting, you know?"

" **Yeah, now I can picture that sweet voice of your's every time I read your messages"**

"Same for you. What are you doing since you're clearly not at the party anymore. I bet Stacie is wondering where you are."

" **Oh God. Stacie might or might not just call the swat team to look for me. I'm walking around in our apartment complex and currently I'm by the pool. It smells like chlorine and it's nice outside right now."**

"Hey, I love the smell of chlorine too!"

" **Just more stuff we have in common."** Beca chuckles and Chloe marks it down as the most intoxicating noise she has ever heard.." **Hey uh, this might sound like…..super weird but what's Aubrey's phone number? And do you mind if I steal it from you?"**

"I mean, it's a little weird but nothing too big. Can I ask why though?"

" **One word. Stacie Conrad. Aka. Jumbo tits, daddy long legs and a giraffe's first cousin."**

Chloe howls out a laugh. "Okay first, that's like 15 words, not one, and second, is this operation matchmaker you're putting to action?"

" **Don't make fun of me I'm drunk. And yes…..yes it is. After some more lurking on your friends profile I found that Aubrey would be a perfect candidate to finally whip up the infamous Stacie Conrad and tame down the hunter."**

"Tame the hunter?"

" **Her vagina."**

"Oh my goodness! She named it?!"

" **Trust me, I asked the same thing."** Chloe hears some ruffling on the other line as well as Beca cursing under her breath. **"** **That was Stacie texting me. She wants me to go and play my new mix for everyone to hear,"** Beca groans and splashing of water is heard through the line. **"so I might need to go."**

"Even though I'm sad that you're leaving, it was very nice talking to you."

" **Yeah, I liked it a lot. Probably even more than texting. We have to do it again."**

"Of course." Chloe smiles at the thought of talking to Beca again and making it a daily thing that they do. Things are surprisingly moving pretty fast and truthfully, she likes it a lot. "Now go have fun! How much alcohol have you had already?"

" **Not too sure, Beale. Let's just say a lot-though I can't tell if it's the liquor or your voice that's making me feel all loopy."**

"Oh my, drunk Beca has mad game!" Chloe giggles, biting her lip at the amount of cheesiness.

" **Hey now, sober Beca does too, she just hasn't had the courage to show you yet. Also, I'm going to ignore your giggle because I'm positive that it was the cutest fucking thing I've ever heard in my life."**

"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen and heard in my life," Chloe shakes her head with an embarrassed smile as her free hand reaches up to cover her face. Did she really just say that? "That was cheesy."

" **Good thing I love cheese-like a bunch."**

"Always making me feel better aren't cha? Go on back to your party and I'll text you in the morning kay?"

" **Okay, sweet dreams, Chlo."**

Chloe tries not to make a sound at the nickname-even though she has heard it before through text but on the phone, it sounds so much better. "Night, Becs."

She hangs up with a smile on her face that she is sure hasn't left her mouth since she answered the phone.

It wasn't how, or what she expected for a first phone call between the two of them but boy was it _perfect_ nonetheless.

* * *

_**Saturday August 26 9:34 AM** _

_C: Good morning, Becs. I know you'll probably see this at like, noon ;) but just wanted to text you :)_

_C: Drink lots of Gatorade and eat something greasy ;)_

Chloe clicks out of her phone, pausing her music and pulls out her earbuds from her ears.

"So," Aubrey starts, taking one of her earbuds out of her ear closest to Chloe, They are on their routine Saturday morning walk/run with Tank to start the day off right. "How was your late night call with Beca?" Finding a nearby bench at a neighborhood park, Aubrey leads them over and they both take a seat.

Chloe rolls her eyes when Aubrey starts to raise her eyebrows up and down, gesturing to something not very appropriate. "You make it seem like I'm working some hotline or something."

"You know when that hotline bling, it can only mean one thing, Chlo," Aubrey sings with a bob to her head, her eyebrows only defining their movements.

Chloe should've been prepared for Drake's lyrics to come next. She again, rolls her eyes at her friend and takes the leash off of Tank's collar so he could go run around for a bit and play with some of the other dogs at the park. It was weird. Tank was loved by the smaller dogs, especially the little Australian terrier, whose owner is the little old lady that works at a nearby coffee place. The dog was basically the size of Tank's foot and if Chloe were to assume, she'd think that these smaller dogs would be scared shitless at the size of her's.

But no, Tank is popular.

Just like his momma.

It's a hot day in Georgia, even for the morning where the sun is barely up in the sky and Chloe is positive that she will get a pretty gnarly sunburn if she doesn't put sunblock on ASAP. So, answering Aubrey's question takes a minor pause as she reaches into her backpack and pulls out some spray on sunscreen before applying it to her exposed arms and legs. She offers some to Aubrey once she makes sure every inch of skin shines with wetness-not like that dirty birds- and the blonde gladly takes the spray can.

"Are you not answering my question because it's too dirty to say out loud?" Aubrey asks while she sprays her body with the offered sunscreen, missing the scrunch in Chloe's brows.

"No it's not dirty," Chloe says, her eyes narrow just under but mouth twitches into a small smile. "The call was actually a buttdial the first time."

"Nooo!" Aubrey's eyes stretch in disbelief. She hands Chloe back her sunscreen and watches the redhead place it back into her bag. "I'd hate to have my first conversation through the phone as a buttdial with someone I've been talking to online. Talk about unplanned _jeesh_."

"Yeah but then an hour later, she called back." Aubrey's focus is caught again by this. "Of course, I wasn't expecting Beca too call this time since I wasted all my energy on the first and second call so, I answered blindly, half awake, and as well with my retainer in."

"Oh no…" Aubrey starts to laugh, hiding her face in her hands when she can only imagine how rough Chloe sounded on the phone. Whenever she tried to talk to the redhead before bed and she put that piece of plastic in her mouth, anything she said didn't make any sense. Half the time her sentences didn't even sound like English but instead gibberish.

Chloe nods her head in agreement because yeah, it was a pretty horrid sight, even if it was only through the phone. "She was drunk, very drunk so it wasn't _that_ bad. She even said I sounded pretty hot with them in." Chloe takes pride in this memory and shrugs.

"Damn, if that's not love I don't know what is." Aubrey snorts, moving her attention over to where Tank was galloping around with the other dogs and playing fetch with a kid from down their block.

Chloe hitches at Aubrey's words, more so at the mention of "love" than anything else. Don't get her wrong, she likes Beca a lot. A scary amount that should terrify her but honestly, it excites her, and there's no excuse around the fact that yes, she is falling pretty hard for this girl.

But love? Yeah, she doesn't want to go overboard with that one.

Or at least jinx it.

"She was adorable last night, Bree. She kept on complimenting my voice and how she couldn't wait any longer without hearing it and was just so…. _ugh_! So freaking cute it hurts to even think about now."

"So what does this mean? You know, between the two of you?

Chloe doesn't really know how to answer this question, not that she even knows the exact answer herself. Beca and her have been talking every day-every second of the day for the past seven days. And they even cleared up the dilemma between them, making it written in stone that yes, they have mutual feelings for one another. Then after that, they really haven't talked about anything as far as "labeling." The flirting though has increased significantly once they cleared up that tiny little issue but other than that, nothing has really changed.

So, Chloe couldn't answer this question.

"We are just talking, Bree. No rush, nothing to big. Just….getting to know each other."

"You're practically glued to your phone, Chlo. I'm surprised you aren't on it right now texting the girl," Aubrey jokes.

"It's like 6 in California right now and Beca usually wakes up at noonish, maybe one when she had a sober night before. Now that she drank this time around, I probably won't hear from her until like, five. Maybe even tomorrow with the hangover that the girl is destined to have," Chloe explains with a giggle and all Aubrey can do is sit next to her in shock, staring blankly with a deadpanned face.

"Okay first, that's creepy how you know when she wakes up and two, that's exactly what I'm talking about. You guys just…...I don't know. Click it seems like. Am I right?" Chloe nods because it is true. So true. And it isn't even like a click between them but more so a connection-like two magnets or something. "Why aren't you honest when it comes to obvious feelings you have towards Beca? Ever since she came around you'd mope."

Chloe sighs, "Okay fine. I'm terrified of commitment. Ever since Jake in college, my trust towards others when it came to dating is practically invisible. And you're right. I'm lonely and sad-well, was sad," Chloe corrects herself. "I have high needs and a list of picky standards. All I want is someone to treat me like I treat them, on top of the world- like nothing else matters and so far, no one has done that for me. I just want someone who makes other people come up to me and say, "I want my partner to look at me the same way your's does," and I want someone who can cook breakfast with me in the morning after waking up to them in their arms and call me crazy but I want JB flowers every now and then."

JB flowers, also known as "just because" flowers.

Not Justin Bieber flowers.

"And with Beca, when I talk to her and my day just so happens to light up, I feel like all of these wants I have could happen someday with her. But I don't want to fall in love with the idea of Beca. How I can always text her when I'm having a bad day and she always being there. I want to make sure I'm falling in love with _her,_ not the relationship itself. "

Aubrey sports an impressed grin,"Wow okay um…..touche first of all." And Chloe returns this by fake bowing and waving her hand like the queen of England. "Second, maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places when it comes to dating someone."

Chloe's posture settles at bit and she joins Aubrey's stare on Tank running around. "Things not going good with Jesse?"

"No, they are…..kinda. We just, have different views on so much and he's like the polar opposite of me. You know that saying opposites attract? Yeah, I don't think that is working for Jesse and I."

"He's a little dorky don't you think?" Chloe snickers, remembering Jesse talk so passionately about Star Wars like he was majoring it in or something. "I love Jesse, don't get me wrong, but I agree on how you guys are exact opposites. I can see you with someone bad ass. Like a rocker or something."

"That would be kinda fun." Aubrey thinks about this for a second. "We could be like groupies and go on tour with them and experience endless nights in a mosh pit. Maybe even get arrested, or make bad decisions like get something pierce or tattooed."

Chloe laughs at the list of endless possibilities."See? Maybe you're just looking in the wrong people not necessarily place." Aubrey shrugs her shoulders. "Oh speaking of you and your dating life, did Beca text you or anything?"

Aubrey narrows her eyes in confusion, her eyebrows scrunching together. "Nooo?" she says as a question. "Why would she text me?"

"I might've gave her your number last night-"

"Chloe seriously?!" Aubrey cuts off, not allowing Chloe to finish explaining.

"Hey listen, she was drunk remember? Chances are she didn't even write it down. I was just wondering because she said something about hooking you up with one of her friends."

"Well, if he's hot, has a college education, is smart, and has his future planned out, sign me up." _He? More like she._

"I'll ask her about it just for you. See if he's Posen worthy." If only Aubrey knew that Chloe has seen Stacie already and hands down, is Posen worthy. They were seriously the same person and God, imagine what a hot couple they would be?

Jesus, talk about power duo.

"Tank!" Chloe whistles with her pinkies, causing Tank to stop what he was doing completely, ears high and staring in the direction where the sound came from. "Time to go boy!" And then he sprints over to Chloe, who's patting her thighs and Aubrey who is getting the leash ready to hook on his collar.

Maybe after she showers and eats, Beca would text her. It's no surprise that she already misses the DJ.

* * *

_**Saturday August 26, 12:33 PM** _

**B: Good morning to you too :-)**

_C: WOW!_

_C: Is this actually Beca or is this her spirit? Or is this not Beca and if that's the case, where is she and what did you do with her?! Never does Beca wake up this early!_

**B: Haha shut up.**

**B: It's me punk and I'll have you know, I've been waking up earlier these past few days, thank you very much.**

_C: Why's that?_

**B: I don't know.**

**B: It might be because I'd rather be talking to you than sleeping**

_C: Whoaaaaaa :O_

_C: Can you repeat that?_

_C: Did I, Chloe Anne Beale….. just out beat sleep on your favorite things to do list? :D_

**B: Yeah haha**

**B: I think you did :-)**

**B: But today I woke up because I felt nauseous ;-)**

_C: Shut up! Lol_

**B: Just kidding.**

**B: I really wanted to talk to you. Also, I wanted to apologize.**

_C: What for?_

**B: Drunk calling you last night. 3 times actually haha**

_C: Don't worry about it!_

Oh no. What if Beca didn't remember anything she said to Chloe last night? Would any of that mean anything anymore?

_C: Do you not remember anything?_

**B: No I do.**

_Phew_ , at least Chloe doesn't have to worry about that. She doesn't know how her body would react if everything Beca said was just some drunken gibberish and didn't actually mean anything that she said. It would hurt that's for sure.

**B: Alcohol gives me a boost of confidence that I don't have sober.**

**B: That's why I decided to call you.**

_C: I know ;) You kept telling me that over the phone. You even complimented my voice when I had my retainer in…_

**B: Oh that's what that was?**

**B: Haha oh my God…..you still wear one of those?**

**B: Do you drool? I heard those things make you drool like a bitch**

_C: Shut it, Mitchell!_

**B: Hey, not saying it was a bad thing.**

**B: You have a killer smile and a great set of teeth. Maybe I should wear one haha**

_C: You have nice teeth stoooppp ;)_

**B: Whatever haha But yeah, I'm sorry for butt dialing you twice, and calling you drunk**

**B: It was nice talking to you tho. Really nice.**

**B: Which reminds me…**

Chloe is mid way through her response and about to send it until her phone lit up, signaling her that she is receiving a call.

_***Incoming call from Beca Mitchell*** _

Smiling, Chloe swipes her thumb right before answering the call. "Hey you."

" **Uh hey,"** Beca's laugh comes out as nervous. A lot different from her over confident laugh last night. **"I uh, wanted to do this right, not drunk and all but in fact, very fucking hungover. Also, this is really fucking terrifying now that I don't have some liquid courage in my system."**

Just like last night, Beca's voice is as mesmerizing as before. Maybe even more now that her voice is laced with sleep and raspiness that Chloe thinks is a mixture between super sexy and puppy dog adorable.

"Just relax, it's just me. Pretend like we are texting. That's how I fought off the nerves last night and I told you to eat something greasy, Becs."

Chloe hears Beca fake gag through the speaker. " **Oh God no. Just thinking about food makes me want to yak. I'm drinking Gatorade tho, like you said and so far it's helping a ton."**

"Well I'm glad to help. No one and I mean no one should experience the pain of a hangover for longer than a hour. What are you doing besides that?"

" **I'm currently laying in bed talking to you. Plan on doing this for a while to be honest….that is unless you are busy."**

"Nope! You're just in luck because I have absolutely nothing this weekend."

" **Sweet because I really, really like talking to you."**

Biting the back of her hand to suppress the megawatt smile, "I like talking to you too, Beca."

* * *

_**Saturday August 26, 3:20 PM** _

"Wow you two are trouble! Was Stacie the mastermind behind all the drinking you did last night? Should I be worried that you're living with an alcoholic?"

Beca chuckles loudly, **"no no, it's Amy who you have to be worried about. Last night, she made me go shot for shot with her even though she knows my limit is 4, especially when I'm drinking the mixed drinks Stacie is mustering up-which by the way are 20 percent juice or soda and 80 percent straight liquor."**

"Oh come on, Becs! Those are the best kind of mixed drinks!"

" **Oh no not you too!"** Chloe hears a door open and muffled voices talking in the background. She is assuming it's Stacie since no one else lives with Beca and duh, they're roommates.

 **"Sexy redhead Chloe?...No way! Hey, Chloe!"** Yup, definitely Stacie. Chloe laughs at Beca trying to get Stacie to leave her room with her endless death threats. " **Ask her to send a nude for science, a sexy topless pic- STACIE GO AWAY!"**

Chloe is sure she is laughing like a hyena but doesn't care because one, she's alone and two, Stacie and Beca's relationship somewhat reminds her of Aubrey and her's. How cool would it be if they could all go on double dates? It's like a best friends dream when it comes to finding someone to date.

Beca releases a heavy sigh at the sound of a door closing, " **Sorry about that. She is very blunt, if you haven't already noticed."**

"She seems great. Like a bag of fun! Oh! By the way, did you get Aubrey's number last night?"

" **Aubrey's number? What? Did I ask for it? Wait….I remember now. That explains why I woke up to a text from you with a random number on it! I was so confused."** Beca laughs.

"Yeah, you wanted to play cupid for Stacie and Aubrey!"

" **Well shit, now that I have her number I so will! That's is if you'll help."**

"Oh you know I'm totes down! I think they'd be great together."

**"Same! I can't believe we've been on the phone for like 3 hours talking about nonsense. I didn't even realize it until Stacie came up here, knocking on my door and seeing if I was dead."**

Neither did Chloe, honestly. It's just, talking to Beca is so easy and enjoyable and at the same time just flies by. You don't get someone who you can spend hours on a phone with without getting bored. It doesn't come very often.

"I know it's crazy. It doesn't feel like it though, and usually I HATE talking on the phone because it gets awkward!"

" **Right? But with you, I don't know. We can talk about anything without getting bored of it. I don't really understand it to be honest."**

Chloe sighs, finger tracing the lining of her bed sheet and can't help but feel the exact same way. "I feel the same but it's nice that's for sure."

" **Yeah it is. So hey, Stacie is bombarding me to go out for lunch with her and I'm not going out in public smelling like I do, not that anyone else would appreciate it either. So, even though I don't want to and would rather spend the entire day talking to you, maybe even all day tomorrow, but sadly I have to take a shower sometime today."**

"Yes go shower smelly!" Chloe giggles. "You can text me or whatever when you're done getting food."

" **Yup, that giggle is still my fucking kryptonite, Beale. Okay, I need to go before this gets any harder than it already is."**

"You're such a cupcake Beca under that bad ass image and I LOVE it!" Chloe giggles again under Beca's chuckles. "Have fun!"

" **I will, talk to you later."**

* * *

_**Monday August 29, 9:32 PM** _

_C: Okay, I may or may not be eagerly waiting for you to get off work so you can tell me about your first day at the record label._

_C: I could barely eat with how excited I am for you! :)_

_**Monday August 29, 9:49 PM** _

**B: Hey there :-)**

_C: Hey!_

_C: Soooooooo? How was it?!_

**B: Intimidating..**

**B: It's really something else. My boss may be high key terrifying.**

_C: Oh I bet!_

_C: It was a good first day though?_

**B: Yeah for sure. Just getting use to everything.**

**B: I missed you though. Not talking to you from 8 all the way to 6 was hard.**

_C: Your internship is daily right?_

**B: Yup, right after classes.**

_C: Boo :( I missed you too but hey, this is exciting for you and even though deep down I'd rather have you talking to me (I'm selfish) I'm also very proud of you :)_

_C: And I can't wait to see what you can do for yourself AND this huge record label :D_

**B: Thanks Chlo :-)**

_C: Of course Becs :)_

_C: Now, I want to hear ALL about your day!_

**B: Haha Okay :-)**

* * *

_**Friday September 2, 12:06 PM (about a week later)** _

You'd think that with time, things that were bothering you and stuff that simply didn't make sense would start to become more clear and you'd finally get those answers you've been waiting so long for.

Yeah, Chloe thought that too but in her case, things were getting more and more confusing the longer she spent talking to Beca-which by the way, is everyday.

But that's nothing new.

Nor is she complaining because let's face it, talking to Beca has become her favorite thing to wake up to, which, of course, only adds to her swirling questions flying around her head left being unanswered.

It is getting harder to contain her growing feelings for the DJ and she doesn't know why. She has met tons of wonderful people over the years and eventually, they became her friends. And not once did they make her feel this undeniable crave to talk to them like Beca does for Chloe. Her day isn't complete without a simple message from Beca-or even call now that they took the next step and this is making Chloe bang her head against a wall as to what she should do next.

But _is_ there anything to do next?

As Google said, after looking this up, the time it takes to get to Los Angeles from Atlanta and vice versa is almost 5 hours flying, and is 32 hours straight, driving. On a train, it would take 2 days and 19 hours, depending on what time slot she caught. Riding a bike would take 192 hours, not that she was that crazy to do that. She loved exercise and loved riding her bike but wow. Talk about extra leg muscles that Chloe does _not_ need. And lastly, the time it would take to walk there runs around 721 hours.

And out of all these options of transportation, there is at least 2000 miles separating Chloe from Beca.

2173.3 miles to be exact.

All of these also don't include the pit stops, possible traffic, knowing LA or delays to a flight as well so really, the time it takes is unknown.

Even if Chloe wanted something farther than friends with Beca-which she does, she has to take into consideration of the distance, and for the first time in her life, she wishes that she didn't live in Georgia.

Or at least the other side of the country.

Chloe's positive that she is falling hard for Beca. Maybe in falling in love with the girl a little bit more every day and that's not what scares Chloe.

No, it's not the falling in love part she's worried about. It's the _failing_ in love.

What if Beca can't afford flying down for the weekend, or what if Chloe can't arrange a time to plan a vacation and spend the week with Beca down in LA? What if distance is too much of a problem for the both of them and Chloe's comes out of this with not only a relationship that wasn't strong enough to fight against a couple thousand miles but also a ruined friendship? She can't lose Beca as a friend, and she knows it's only been a couple weeks, (15 days) but the friendship she has with Beca is something that she treasures.

Beca is someone she can talk to when she is bored and wants a good laugh, or someone who she can rant to when she has a bad day and basically pour her feelings out through the phone and Beca would listen so intently- like it was her favorite thing to do. God, does she listen and Chloe bets that if she would ask the girl to repeat every last word she just said, Beca would be able to.

It is something that Chloe has never experienced in a friendship with someone before-other than Aubrey but even then, there's a little more with Beca.

And she _can't_ lose that.

She just can't.

Chloe's in her room, laying down on her bed reading a magazine and listening to a few of Beca's mixes that this time were created in a special playlist just for Chloe with all her favorite songs at the moment, and this was just another reason _not_ to fall in love with Beca Mitchell.

Beca was in class at the moment and since Aubrey was busy with her doctor stuff and Chloe's morning class was cancelled, she had literally nothing to do. Beca's "You and I" mix by Pvris echoes through Chloe's beats bill and she hums along with the lyrics softly while flipping the pages through her magazine, learning all about Selena and Bieber and even irrelevant cosmetics by the Kardashians.

The doorbell rings when she is about to grab her cellphone from her desk and she walks out of her room to answer the door. What she doesn't expect when she opened the door was a young man, maybe in his early twenties, dressed in a Flower Delivery Express uniform and holding a gigantic bouquet of beautiful, golden sunflowers that glistened with mist under the Georgia's sunlight.

At first she tells him that he must've drove to the wrong house because clearly, no one should be sending Chloe flowers anytime soon-even though sunflowers are her absolute favorite because they were so big and beautiful and had to bite her tongue to not just lie and take the flowers for herself.

"No this was the address I got ma'am," The boy reads off his clipboard and Chloe cringes at the word of ma'am. She's 27 not 67. "Chloe Beale?"

That is weird.

How did he have her name let alone address? Is she being punked or something?

"That's me," Chloe says with a nervous chuckle, still confused about what was going on and why there is a gorgeous yet random bouquet of flowers at her doorstep?

"Sweet! I just need you to sign this and you're all good to go."

Chloe just stares for a second at the boy's beaming smile but then, takes the offered pen and clipboard out of his grip before signing her signature on the designated line. Taking the flowers next -God, they are truly jaw dropping in size- she says her thanks before the delivery guy is gone and walking back to his van.

Thankfully, there's a small note deep in there that Chloe hopes will answer all her questions-like who the hell is sending her flowers at 12 o'clock in the morning. She snips open the letter and reads the card out loud.

_Just something I'd send out to make you smile, hopefully. It would be awkward if you thought this was creepy…..anyways, I hope you have a great day._

_Ps. A little bird gave me your address and told me you're a sucker for these gigantic flowers, not that I'm surprised. They're just as beautiful as you :-)_

_-Beca_

"Oh my God..." Chloe's doesn't know whether she should cry tears of joy because her heart feels like it is going to explode out of her chest, or laugh hysterically because it was _so_ Beca.

So, she ends up doing both because her body is overflowing with so many emotions and she doesn't know what to do with them.

Plain and simple, this is probably the sweetest thing anybody has done for her.

One thing that Chloe couldn't get off her mind is that these aren't just some ordinary flowers but in fact, they are JB flowers. JB flowers that were ordered from Beca all the way in California and delivered to Chloe all the way in Georgia and is a simple gesture that she has wanted to experience at least once for the longest time. Never, and even from someone that lived in the same state has sent her flowers just because.

And thinking about this, and what Beca just did for her out of the blue, she doesn't know how much longer she can handle falling in love with this girl without doing anything about it.

Maybe it is time for a change.


	7. New Job

_**Friday September 2, 9:30 AM** _

_***Chloe Beale Has Tagged You In a Photo On Instagram*** _

_Well guys, I finally got my JB flowers and I got them from an amazing girl :) xxdjBMitchie_

Beca smiles reading this post of the sunflowers she sent early this morning, happy that they made it to Chloe's without any problems. It was her first time ever sending anything through this website and embarrassingly, she had to call and talk to an operator as to how the hell she starts the process of even picking out the right ones. After endless confusing directions from the very nice lady, Beca remembered talking to Aubrey a few days back about Chloe's favorite flowers. This, was a lot easier to get from the blonde unlike their address.

Jesus, was that a _fucking_ hassle.

But when she did receive everything she needed from Aubrey, she found a flower delivery place that is surprisingly cheap for the size flowers they send. She found a perfect bouquet of the biggest set of sunflowers she has ever seen and everything about them scream Chloe. Beca knew she found the right flowers and before she checked out to place the order, there were other options as gifts to send so of course, Beca had to check them out.

Deciding that flowers should be plenty-even though there was chocolate, cards and even stuffed animals, she sent them over Georgia, knowing that if she really wanted to get Chloe some chocolate or a stuffed bear, there'd be lots of other times to do so since she is planning on doing this a lot.

She's on her hour break before her class that starts at 10:30 as she sits on the campus quad, listening to some music and people watching everyone that passes her. It's extremely nice out in LA-not too hot, not to cool and there's a slight breeze that just feels heavenly. Chloe is probably done with her classes for the day so knowing that, she exits out of Instagram-not before liking the picture first- and clicks into her phone book until her thumb hovers over Chloe's name.

Beca is starting to like this whole phone call option a lot better than texting, if she's honest. Hearing Chloe voice was nice. There's a sweet tone that is an exact mirrored sound of Chloe's personality, and it can't help but make Beca's day oh so much better, even if was already good to start with.

It's like, her day isn't complete without hearing Chloe's voice at least once.

God. How queer balls does that sound?

The phone barely has the chance to ring before Chloe picks up with a bubbly 'hello' that stretches Beca's cheeks so impossibly far that she thinks her smile might become permanent, and it makes her think to herself at how much she has missed the sound of Chloe's voice. That's even when she realizes that the last time she has talked with the redhead was last night.

And yeah, it's a little scary and concerning that already, she was missing Chloe this much but also, she can't help but feel content at the feeling; comfortable in a way.

" _You wanna explain to me why there was flowers at my door?"_

Beca situates herself on a shady, nearby tree, placing her backpack on the ground next to her before sliding her back down on the bark to lean against. She kicks out her legs in front of her and crosses them at her ankles. "Oh shit. I so meant to send them to your neighbor's address…..this is pretty awkward."

Chloe laughs out loud and it hits Beca right at home. _"You did not!"_

"You caught me Beale," Beca snickers, shaking off the warm, giddy feeling as she gets use to Chloe's voice again. "Do you like them?"

" _Do I like them? "_ Chloe scoffs dramatically. _"Yes! I love them! They're so beautiful, Becs."_ She can basically hear the genuine excitement through the phone and she knows that she made a good choice. At first, Beca was a little hesitant about sending a gift like flowers to someone she has met online. There was the thought of Chloe hating them or the thought of Chloe thinking she was absolutely psycho for figuring out her address and would be on her way to the nearest police station to cation about a possible stalker.

That would **_not_** be good.

But turns out, she was over thinking for no reason.

" _Can I ask a few questions though?"_

"I knew you'd have a few up your sleeves. Shoot."

" _You know me so well. Okay first, did you really want Aubrey's number to hook her and Stacie up? I soooo thought you'd be too drunk to even remember me texting you her number in the first place!"_

Beca laughs, "Nope. Totally remembered everything. Asking and all. Really, the Stacie and Aubrey hook up was just a cover so you'd give me her number. It would be a little weird and suspicious if I just straight up asked for your roommate's digits. But now that I have it, I can play match maker whenever I want."

" _I knew it! But yeah, that would be a little fishy. Okay second question….well more like a guess but whatever. Did Aubrey tell you about my favorite flowers?"_

"Well kinda. I already picked the sunflowers out after a not so proud moment of stalking your entire life through social media...I know….creepy BUT, I saw a picture you posted from a while back of your grandparent's garden filled with sunflowers and saying something along the lines that they were your fav so, I took that and sorta guess. I only used Aubrey as a confirmation."

There was a long pause before Chloe begins to talk again and Beca can almost feel the power of the multiple eye rolls she is receiving like Chloe is right in front of her. " _YOU Beca Mitchell have no shame when is comes to creepin,"_ Chloe giggles.

There's that fucking giggle again, not that she is complaining. Definitely not complaining and Beca would be perfectly okay with hearing that sound for the rest of her life if she's being honest.

" _Okay, final question. Why?"_

"Why what?" Beca smiles, knowing exactly _**why**_ and _**what**_ Chloe was talking about.

Releasing a heavy sigh, _"You know exactly why Beca,"_ and then she laughs _. "Why did you send me flowers?"_

Not wanting to dangle this anymore than she has already done, Beca starts, "I don't really know honestly. You make me feel like a lunatic majority of the day. My head is fuzzy, I can't think properly and it makes me want to do all this shit for you that's just straight bananas. For example, hop on the first flight out to Georgia to come see you, dropping everything and anything going on up here in LA. But I'm broke as shit currently so, that's a plan for the future. Hopefully soon though."

This wasn't a joke. The amount of times Beca has searched airline flights from LA to Atlanta was daily. But what also wasn't a joke was her bank account, and living in California as a college student is not cheap. If it was, she wouldn't be here right now talking to Chloe on the phone and instead, on the next flight down to Georgia so she could talk to the girl who's been on her mind 24/7 in person.

"You're something else, Beale, and I sent them mostly just because and you deserve to know how amazing you truly are every once in a while."

Beca can make out a noise exiting from Chloe that sounds like a mixture between a whimper and someone swooning and she thinks, should she be worried?

" _How did I get so lucky?"_

Nah. She shouldn't.

"I can ask myself the same question."

There's a pregnant pause of them just exchanging breaths over the lines but the power of Chloe's cheeky grin can be felt in miles apart. " _Thank you, Beca."_

"Of course, Chloe. Like I said, you deserve a little reminder of how great you are every now and then."

They talk a little bit longer. Just the usual where they share their days by the hour- even though Beca's day pretty much just started a couple hours ago since Chloe's day is three hours ahead of her's. But still, it's been a good morning so far, especially talking to Chloe.

That's just an automatic gateway to a perfect day.

Listening to Chloe talk about her day is probably on the tippy top of the list things Beca loves to do. She could just get lost in her stories about her teaching and soon Beca has to shake her head out of it because she's so deep in a trance when listening.

What has to be first on the list is talking to Chloe as a whole. Beca loves talking to her. More than anything in the world she thinks, maybe even more than making music. And that's pretty intense if you ask her.

What's different about talking on the phone with Chloe compared to Cynthia Rose, Amy or even Stacie is that there is so _**many**_ things Beca loves about their conversations.

Exhibit A, she loves the way Chloe can't say a full sentence without laughing. Even if it's a brief snicker or a soft giggle, she's always making some noise on the other line and fuck, it's contagious. Exhibit B, she loves how Chloe seems genuinely curious about Beca's day and what she did- which leaves her to ramble nonstop about literally _everything_ she did and for anyone else, she'd keep it short and simple but for Chloe, she'd give her every little detail, knowing she actually cares.

And _**maybe**_ it's just an excuse to keep talking to her but...whatever.

And exhibit C, she loves the way Chloe gets so passionate about her education and the kids she teaches-though some days might be harder than others and Chloe being the optimistic girl she was raised into, still always finds the brighter things in life and that's something Beca could just listen to for hours.

Days.

Years probably.

There's a lot more of the little things Chloe does that Beca loves but really, do you wanna just read a novel longer than the Lord of The Rings about never ending qualities about the redhead?

Yeah, didn't think so.

Before she knows it, 10:30 is coming around the corner and she tells Chloe that she has to go to class and learn about useless shit that she'll never use-not even once- in her future. She tries to ditch. Maybe Chloe forgot that she had class at 10:30 and they would just talk right over the time but Chloe _of course_ reminds Beca to go to class because soon, in a snap of a finger, she's done with college and whether she thinks so or not, Beca's going to miss it.

Thanking her for the small life lesson, Beca promises Chloe that she'll talk to her after work before hanging up and then, she's making her way across the quad and up into the music building where her class is taking place on the third floor.

Not even halfway through the class as the teacher explains the evolution of music in South Africa, Beca already has the redhead on her mind.

See? That's what Beca is talking about. It's how much Chloe is affecting her life and not in the bad way.

And she can't for the life of her surpass this bubbling feeling in her gut whenever she hears her voice, sees her face or simply reads a message and she knows soon, these feelings will overcome her body and will make it a hell of a lot harder to keep them to herself.

Chloe Beale is and _**will**_ , be the death of her.

* * *

_**Monday September 5, 5:45PM** _

**B: Okay, you'll never guess who I met at work today.**

_C: Bet you I can ;)_

_C: Give me some hints!_

**B: Hmm we'll see**

**B: Okay, first of all, his music is fucking legendary**

_C: ….. really?_

_C: That could honestly be anybody Becs! Lol_

**B: Okay vague, sorry.**

**B: Half shaved head..**

_C: Okay, better._

_C: More_

**B: Long black hair**

**B: Glasses, has gauges**

C: No…

_C: Oh my god_

_C: Beca..._

**B: Big DJ…**

_C: NO FREAKING WAY!_

_C: YOU MET SKRILLEX?!_

**B: Haha yeah! Diplo was there too but Skrillex Chlo...fucking Skrillex!**

**B: Good job ;-)**

_C: I have mixed feelings about this! I'm so excited for you and then I'm super jealous! D:_

_C: But more excited than anything :)_

_C: That's so cool! What happened? Did you talk to him? What was he like? Was he rude? He looks pretty intimidating._

**B: He was there because Roger who is an A &R at Atlantic, is working on something new with him and Diplo since their last album together went off the charts. Yes I talked to him, well at least tried. I had a total fangirl moment not going to lie haha. He's actually really short in person, btw. Also super nice. He looks like really intimidating but he's super humble and sweet.**

_C: His music is intimidating too! Lol_

**B: Very true**

**B: Then, okay listen to this. HE ASKED IF I WAS BECA MITCHELL…**

**B: HE WAS FUCKING FAMILIAR WITH MY MIXES. Boom.**

_C: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Beca! :D_

_C: What happened!?_

**B: I played him my newest one that I showed you, as well as Roger and they both said the mix was good. The bass match, basslines and break downs all blended perfectly. There was a good transition from chorus to beat to riff and was just a solid remix of a popular song.**

_C: You really need to teach me all your fancy DJ sayings because it's like you're speaking a foreign language :(_

_C: But then what!? There has to be more!_

**B: There IS**

**B: So after that, they asked if I could sing or write music.**

_C: And you said yes right?!_

**B: Haha yeah. And of course they made me go into the studio and sing for them which was nerve racking by itself.**

**B: But they all told me they were impressed and then asked why I never do my own vocals for my songs.**

**B: I just told them I'm not confident and not comfortable really with singing then I got lectured haha**

**B: By Skrillex…**

_C: I'd love to even get slapped by Skrillex to be honest lol_

_C: What did he say?_

**B: That I should test out my voice, experiment with my mixes and even come up with an original sound**

**B: Oh and get this, Roger wants to hear more of my demos! (Of course no mashups) but any of my own stuff. He said he was impressed, always has been but wants more**

_C: That is HUGE Beca!_

_C: Omg I don't even know what to say!_

**B: That's not even the best part!**

_C: Oh my goodness there is more? I don't think my body can take any more exciting news without fainting!_

**B: Don't worry I'm CPR certified ;-)**

**B: But Diplo is in need of a new album, some fresh beats, and if I give Roger and all the other record executives something good at my interview type thing Friday, he wants me to produce it! AND even possibly do vocals for the song!**

_C: So kinda like a try out?! Like an actual job interview Becaaaaa!_

**B: Yeah kinda. It's a fucking process that's for sure.**

**B: If they like my stuff, but Chlo, I think I might actual get my big shot here.**

_C: I know I already said this but Beca this is huge! :D I'm so proud of you!_

_C: I always knew that you were going to do big things in the music industry! :)_

**B: haha thanks Chlo but I still have to make something original-which by the way I have zero experience with and two, go through interviews after interviews with basically a tower of people that run Atlantic.**

**B: There's still a chance they might not like my stuff.**

**B: Then, I'll go back to being coffee and burrito girl**

_C: No don't think like that. They'll love it! You're an amazing artist and okay, producing something of your own might be a little tricky but Beca you are super talented. Music genius really!_

_C: And if for whatever mind blowing reason they don't like your music, there's like BILLIONS of record companies that would love to hear YOUR sound. Don't give up that easy :)_

_C: Plus, you'd be like….the cutest burrito and coffee girl like ever ;)_

**B: You're right Haha thank you Chlo. Always know the right things to say :-)**

**B: There's this girl Emily that's working on her own songs and stuff here. She's a freshman and super young, basically a fetus, but I see her around the Music building a lot and even heard her singing one time. Girl has a voice and her songs aren't half bad. Her mom I guess was super big here so you can say she's some sort of Legacy.**

**B: Maybe we could collab or something.**

_C: See? Look at you already thinking of plans :)_

_C: That sounds like a great idea! But a week? Would you be able to come up with something so fast?_

**B: I thought you said I was a music genius? ;-)**

**B: But yeah, I'm gonna have to. They don't need like a full song. Even a snippet they said would be fine. Just something to show them I can can actually produce music haha**

_C: You ARE a musical genius ;) I was just curious!_

_C: But I think you can do it :)_

_C: I KNOW you can do it :)_

**B: Always believing in me :-)**

**B: I'll talk to Emily tomorrow and see what we can do. Our campus has their own studio so we could camp out there for the next four days and try to come up with something decent**

_C: More like aca-awesome!_

**B: What the hell was that?**

**B: Aca-what?**

_C: Aubrey would always hyphenate every word with "aca"_

_C: And don't make fun. Acapella is totes awesome ;)_

_C: Speaking of Aubrey, she says congrats :D_

**B: You with her?**

_C: Yeah she came up to my room, thinking something was wrong when I couldn't stop squealing over your exciting news!_

_C: Even Tank thought I was crazy lol_

**B: That's cute :-)**

**B: Tell her I said thanks**

**B: Even though I'm still hurt that she bags on my appearance :-(**

_C: Lol!_

_C: She says you can pull them off though!_

**B: Whatever, if I don't get this job, I'm blaming her because I bet the record label doesn't like my raccoon eyes and piercings either :-(**

_C: LOLOLOLOLOL!_

_C: She says, "don't you dare midget!"_

**B: Wow. Now hurtful names?**

**B: She's the reason I have self esteem issues.**

_C: You're perfect just the way you are ;)_

**B: Yeah yeah, whatever you say Beale.**

**B: Tell me about your day. How was class and everything?**

_C: Oh my day was nothing compared to yours._

_C: Boring stuff :)_

**B: I don't think so.**

**B: I wanna hear about it :-)**

_C: Hmmmmmm okay. Just because you wanna hear :)_

* * *

**Tuesday September 6, 3:30 PM**

_C: I know you're supppppeeer busy with everything but I just wanna pop in a text saying how much I miss you since the last time we chatted was yesterday night :(_

_C: Besides the good morning text but that doesn't count since you always send those :)_

_C: But I know you're busy making amazing music and I can't be more proud of you Beca :D Text me when you're done? I hope you have a good rest of your day :)_

Reading these messages under her job's desk where a laptop and pair of headphones sit, Beca smiles to herself because leave it to Chloe to make her feel like a teenage girl again. Today is slow in the office, her boss is having a whole army of people search the Internet for the next rising stars, so that's what Beca's has been doing for the last couple hours.

So far, she found zip. Yeah, there is some good singers but Jesus, did all of them buy an auto tune maker at the same time or what? She knows if she mentions one of them to her boss and they contact whoever it is, their actual voice won't nearly sound the same without the machine doing it for them.

Talk about music makeup.

Lunch already passed and she knows she is suppose to be working on this Bieber project, but she can't wait until 6 when she gets off to talk to Chloe. Plus, she has like loads of things to tell the girl and if she doesn't get it off her chest now, no way will she be able to function correctly to scavenge around all of YouTube.

So, she thinks it's a perfect time for a bathroom break.

Once making it to one of the stalls in the bathroom-thankfully empty- she pulls out her phone and goes to her recent contacts in search of the redhead's number. She snickers at what she sees because all her calls the past like week have all been to Chloe.

And occasionally Stacie, but that's it.

Clicking on her name, she listens to it ring patiently, hoping the redhead picks up soon. She doesn't have long in the bathroom without making it seem suspicious but even a few minutes of Chloe is better than anything.

" _Beca?"_ Chloe answers after a few seconds and Beca instantly gets hit with a wave of relief that she answered.

"Hey Chlo." She hides her face with her hand, already feeling the cheesy smile curving up on her mouth at just the sound of Chloe's voice.

" _What are you doing calling me? Aren't you at work?"_

"Yeah I am, but I wanted to talk to you."

That's a hilarious understatement.

" _Awh Becs, you were going to talk to me in a few hours anyways!"_ Beca squeezes her eyes shut at the adorable giggle Chloe sends through the phone, not able to handle the true power behind it without turning into a pile of mush. " _Was it my text? I hope I'm not distracting you and if I am, I'm sorry."_

Chloe was no way innocent in the distraction department but with her, she is the good type of distraction; one that she wouldn't mine getting yelled at if caught by her boss. "Definitely not, maybe your text made it a little harder not to talk to you, but I had you on my mind since the first moment I woke up. It was only till now I couldn't find the strength in my body not to hear your voice."

" _Oh boy, I thought I was the only one! At least there was mutual withdrawals. Where are you? There's an echo to your voice."_

"Currently, I'm in a bathroom stall," Beca says, glancing around at the black and surprisingly clean metal walls, free of gum and complete nonsense usually written in sharpie. This place sure takes phenomenal care of their restrooms.

" _What are you doing in there?!"_

"I'm not on break and lunch already pass."

" _Are you going to get in trouble? If you are, I have conflicted feelings on whether or not I should let you go because I wanna talk to you but also, I don't want you to get yelled at,"_ Chloe chuckles halfheartedly. " _Your boss seems pretty strict."_

Well that is half true. Roger, for the most part, is a nice guy, intimidating for sure, but he is nice. However, there were things that he went about throughout the day that Beca didn't understand, like, wear sunglasses inside and call her Reggie.

Reggie is no where close to her actual name so how in the Hell did he mix those two up?

"I mean, he is but it's cool. We will only talk for a short bit. I really just wanted to hear your voice and also tell you that I'm working on a song with Emily that she wrote called “Flashlight.” That's why yesterday was kinda hectic."

Chloe squeals high pitched and loud, causing Beca to pull the phone away from her ear laughing. How excited Chloe got when Beca told her good news made her heart cramp. In a good way.

It's always a good way when it comes to Chloe Beale.

" _Beca, that's awesome! You have to let me hear it when you're done!"_

"Of course," Beca snickers. "It might be like that for the next few days but don't you think I've forgotten about you one second."

" _I'm pretty certain you couldn't even if you tried."_ Chloe emits one of her sweet giggles.

"You know me so well," Beca chuckles as well, rolling her eyes. "What are you up to right now? How were classes?"

" _Oh don't you think about it Mitchell..."_

Beca full on laughs by this point, shaking her head, "What?"

" _You think I don't see you trying to stall, tisk tisk. Go back to work you dork! We will talk as soon as you're done. Then, I'll tell you all about my day."_

Seeming like this was perfect timing since the doors to the bathroom opened up and Beca saw that she is no longer alone. Not wanting to seem like she was talking to herself in a stall, she gave in. "Ugh fine. Call you after?"

" _I'll be waiting! Don't have to much fun!"_

"Oh I won't."

Beca hangs up with a shake to her head and exits the stall, but not without running into a familiar coworker of her's but also not familiar enough to know the girl's name. All she knows is that the girl has a very intense wardrobe and if wasn't the ripped up jeans, sleeve tattoo and heavy make up, it was for sure the florescent pink and purple spiked hair.

She wonders what Aubrey would say about this girl's appearance and if she'd compare Beca's to this wanna be Pink look alike.

 _She_ has ear monstrosities.

Beca has bling. Duh.

She gives an awkward, tight lip smile and slowly gravitates over to the sink to wash her hands where the other girl stands fixing her makeup. Technically, Beca didn't use the bathroom but also, she didn't just want to leave, making it possible for this random chick to assume and then a rumor gets started around the company that Beca Mitchell doesn't wash her hands after using the bathroom.

It's so high school but still so possible.

Especially by the stink face Beca is receiving the entire time as she reaches for soap and turns on the faucet. This girl probably thinks Beca is a crazy person since she did by chance walk in on the ending half of her's and Chloe's conversation. What crazy person goes into a bathroom stall to talk on the phone?

Beca does, obviously.

"Sup?" Beca figures the least she can do is be polite and maybe lift this awkward as shit tension currently going on between them. One thing Beca doesn't do good with, awkward situations. She's already awkward to start so putting her in one was a shit show waiting to happen.

Beca should've expected no grand gesture from the girl as she fakes her best smile that really didn't look like a smile at all, and looked more like she was in pain.

Oh well. At least she tried right?

She rinses the soap off her hands, making sure she got all the bubbles and all the nonexistent germs she had on her hands before and books it out of the bathroom quickly.

* * *

_**Friday September 9, 5:56 PM** _

"Stacie!"

Beca doesn't even put a single foot into her apartment before she is yelling for her friend. She drops all her things on the ground and sprints up the stairs to Stacie's room when she gets no response. Yes, she full on sprints. It's shocking and a rare sight to see Beca run in any fashion but this is urgent.

The door is closed when she gets to the top and she should really knock because manners, duh, but she can't find it in her to wait another second with all the exciting news she has to tell her friend.

The door isn't locked when Beca lifts her hand to jiggle the knob. "I'm coming in!" She warns briefly before whipping the door open and is greeted face to face with Stacie directly on the other side, wearing one of those oddly terrifying face masks and scares Beca half to death when her senses are slapped by that God awful green color.

" _Jesus Christ_!" Because Beca jumps ten feet in the air and screams bloody murder, Stacie does the same, not expecting Beca to throw open her door as she reaches for the handle herself.

"Learn to knock maybe!?" Stacie reaches for her chest after her near heart attack, stumbling back to give Beca room. "I was coming down the first time you yelled for me, impatient! I was just putting on my face mask and wanted to finish-"

"I'm hired, Stace!" Beca barely lets her finish before the news slips right from her mouth and Stacie's face is puzzled at first with the lack of detail, but then transforms into two stretched eyes and a mouth dropping straight down to the floor.

"You're what!?" Her words are practically screeched.

"I'm hired!" Beca repeats and she can feel her eyes starting to swell and the tears beginning to pool at the bottom. "Atlantic fucking hired me to work for Diplo's new album!" And now, she's crying because she can't beileve the actual words coming from her mouth.

"Oh my God, Beca!" It doesn't help the unwanted tears settle when Stacie brings Beca in for a bone crushing hug, squeezing extra hard. And it definitely doesn't help that she hears Stacie crying and sniffling from where her head is squashed on her chest. Then she proceeds to ramble something incoherent as her tears blend with her sentences and Beca has to pull away with a laugh because she understood absolutely nothing Stacie just said.

"Oh my God that mask looks even more scary than before," Beca chuckles under her waterfall of tears at the streams from where Stacie's tears rolled down her cheek-which also causes her cheeks to heighten and more tears to sneak out of her eyes.

She hates crying. Absolutely Hates it, especially in front of other people, but right now, she might just have to make an exception. "I mean, I have to go back and do a bunch of contract signing but still, it's happening," Beca still spoke in shock, wiping her eyes to get rid of the tears. The feeling of how surreal this moment was never really fading away.

"I don't even care right now how bad I look, my best friend just got hired to produce a huge DJ's new album! Oh my _God_ I think I'm going to hyperventilate..." Stacie freezes, chest raising up and down as her breathing becomes faster.

Some more drunkened laughs under the tears are shared between the two. "Don't die on me Stace." Beca wipes some more tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I need you around to help me through this. It's a fucking dream come true but also, it's going to be very challenging."

"I'll try not to," Stacie says, regaining her breathing back down to normal. "Have you told your dad?"

Beca scrunches her face at this sudden question. Why would she tell her dad who first of all, didn't support her dreams in the first place? She didn't hate him. No, that's too harsh. She was though hurt by his lack of belief, saying it wasn't a real profession and more of a hobby. That was until she got famous for her mashups online then he all of a sudden was proud of her "hobby."

"No," Beca replies simply. "And I'm not going to."

Stacie seems like she was prepared for this answer as she breathes a heavy sigh and goes into her bathroom. "Beca I know he was a dick to you-" She blows her nose due to the stuffiness from crying. "-and you have every right to be mad but don't you think he has the right to know?"

Beca hears her clear as day but decides to join Stacie in the bathroom, taking a seat on the closed toilet lid. "I mean, not really." Stacie, even though she is busy cleaning off the green mud from her face mask, still manages to throw a stern look towards Beca, who only shrugs as a response. She is just being honest.

"The only reason he is even trying to contact me now is because of my popularity. From high school to college, my music has gotten out there significantly. I know he is only doing that because other people in my family keep telling him how proud he must be to see me making it somewhat big in LA."

"Okay maybe but Becs, he is your father. And I know he didn't support any of your music when you were set on being a producer but now, with all of your success, also helloooo, being hired to work for a legit big time artist, don't you think you could rub it in his face a bit? Prove that you were right and he was wrong? I know Beca Mitchell and know she wouldn't miss a few seconds of bragging to her father even if the world was ending."

Beca snorts. That is very true. Seeing her dad constantly apologize for not believing in her dreams is something she lived for. She loved hearing those words come from his mouth, knowing that he was admitting he was wrong.

Only took him a few thousand followers and an impressive amount of reposts of her music to knock the sense into him that what she was trying to do, wasn't just (again,) a "hobby."

And okay, she might counter his proudness with the fame she is getting in return but she couldn't even lie and say he wasn't trying. God, he was trying hard. Almost too hard and in fact, he would be the first person, if not second to repost her songs on Facebook, always saying how proud he is and it nauseates her to say so, but it is sweet.

Really sweet. Like, he actually cares and is proud to call her his daughter.

Ugh, gag her on stick.

"What would I even say?" Beca chuckles dryly, shaking her head after moments of thinking to herself. "We don't exactly have a good "father daughter bond," let me remind you. The last time I had a full on conversation with the man was when we left to college and even then, it was brief. Other than that, it's a few texts here and there before I end up ignoring him anyways."

Beca follows Stacie out of the bathroom once she dries off her face with a sink towel and over to her bed, taking a seat at the edge with a huff. This was way too much thinking and way too stressful to handle right now.

"Well you better do it before someone else does. Such as whoever runs the social media part of Atlantic," Stacie says, glancing at her phone before she hands it over to Beca for her to read.

It was a tweet from Atlantic Records, showing a picture of Beca, Roger, Diplo and Skrillex sitting at a table going over what looks like, important stuff.

" _In the studio with famous YouTube star_ _DJ Beca Mitchell who has officially signed on to work with diplo for his newest album xxdjBMitchie"_

"You'll have about 10 mins to call him before your fans, friends, family, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins all find out the news, Becs." Stacie pulls back her phone. "Also, I'm about to brag about you on every single one of my profiles and being friends with your dad, you better chop chop." She snaps her fingers but keeps her eyes glued to her phone.

Beca rolls her eyes but smiles because she could tell Stacie was eager to let the whole world know her best friend was like borderline superstar. She can see Stacie's thumbs begin to type on her keyboard so, she figures the time she has is running out of time. Getting up from the bed, Stacie tells her once more how proud she is and Beca's says her thanks before going off into her room.

"Wait!" Stacie stops Beca from walking and she turns around in her tracks. "What part of Georgia does Chloe live in?" She asks when Beca is seen standing at the entryway of Stacie's door.

"Atlanta."

"And where does your dad live now?"

Beca knits her brows together, not seeing what direction Stacie is headed towards. "Sandy Hills I think. Did you forget that I wasn't in contact with him for the past four years?"

Stacie face doesn't move as she stares at Beca with a dead panned face. No blinks, no flinch, nothing. "How did you graduate high school with your lack of geography?"

"First, I don't need those classes when there is such thing as a map where I can look everything up. Second, I'm a music major, not a geography one," Beca states matter of factly. "Did you just call me back to be an asshole?" Beca crosses her arms above her chest.

"Sandy Hills is _in_ Georgia Beca." Okay, this catches her attention quickly. Very quickly. "Like, 20 minutes from Atlanta."

"W-what?" How did she not know this? She knew her dad moved a little bit after Beca and Stacie went to college but she didn't think about nor really cared about _where_ he moved to.

"You seriously need to call your dad Becs and I know you might not want to but being a part of your dad's life again might just so happen to bring you closer to Chloe," Stacie explains and Beca already feels her thumbs twitch around her cellphone, anxious to call her dad. That's a first.

She doesn't need to be told twice before she is out of Stacie's room and sitting at her desk, dialing up her father's name after searching for it through her phone book. At one point she was worried that she didn't have his number anymore after ignoring him for all these years and she would have to pull a "slide into the DMs" for her own dad through Facebook.

Luckily for her, she still had it and hopefully, it was still his number.

The phone rings for a bit and Beca is crossing her fingers that he won't pick it. If that's the case, it will allow her to leave a message without actually having to talk to him and hear his voice.

" _ **Hello?"**_ Dammit. There goes that plan. " _ **Beca?"**_

"Uh hey." She chuckles nervously. God, hearing his voice just sounds weird. This is going to be a long conversation. "How are you?" She doesn't know how to start this conversation honestly so, she goes with that.

" _ **I-I'm….great! How are you?"**_ His voice is shockingly surprised, but also a little excited, and it makes Beca kind of feel like a bitch for shutting him out for so long since clearly, it's bizarre hearing from his own daughter. His _own_ daughter. " _ **How's school? California? How's your music going?"**_

"Yeah about that..." Beca nervously snickers, not really knowing why she is so nervous when only talking to her dad. "I uh, got an intern position at Atlantic Records a couple weeks ago." It feels uncomfortable just mentioning it now after being at Atlantic for so long, but she hopes he won't dwell on it.

" _ **What? Wow that's awesome, Becs!"**_ He doesn't seem to mind that he is just now finding out about the internship, which is a plus and saves Beca from the excuses she was already mustering up.

"Yeah but there's more." Beca laughs awkwardly, her thumbs twiddling around with a quarter on her desk to distract her from the nerves. Why was she even nervous? It's just her father dammit.

Her father, who hasn't ever really been _there_ for her, even with the visible attention that came with her music.

Telling him something as big as this just felt unnatural, like, why should he get to know how well in life she is doing when before, when she really needed his support, he was MIA?

"I'm sure you aren't familiar with his work since it's dance music-"

_" **Hey now. I'll let you know I broadened my horizons with the teen pop you kids listen too. I'm basically Fetty Wap's biggest fan."**_

Beca erupts with an actual laugh and it scares her more than anything-like she just said a swear word in front of her grandmother, or something equally as bad. Shaking it off for now, "yeah sure. But Diplo, a famous DJ who worked with Skrillex and has a lot of hit singles wants me to produce his new album."

" _ **Well you were right about not knowing him because, I don't,"**_ he says this with a few laughs. **"B** _ **ut produce? Like produce produce? Write lyrics, create some beats and possibly win some Grammys? Like an actual music producer? One you've been dreaming of being since you were little?"**_

Great. Beca's crying once again before she even confirms the damn questions when she realizes how long she has dreamt of this very moment and now, it's all coming true for her. All these emotions were coming at her like a tsunami. "Yeah dude. Like…. legit producer that will be mentioned in a thanks on the cover fold at the back of an album." It's a habit calling everyone dude and obviously she has no filter at the moment with all her emotions scrambling together so she doesn't think before it slips towards her dad.

" _ **Beca, that's great news! I'm so proud of you!"**_

"Uh thanks." Not the ideal thing to say but really, she couldn't think of anything else as him admitting how proud he actually is comes once in a blue moon, or what she is familiar with, never.

" _ **I know I haven't always been supportive of your music and I'd give anything to go back in time and change that. You're talented Beca. So very talented, and I wish I could've been a part of your journey to get to where you're now,"**_ His voice cuts off near the end and she knows he is crying when she hears a faint sniffle through the line. The sound makes her stomach knot, as well as her throat and not really shocking anymore since it's what she has been doing literally the whole afternoon but, she's crying.

Again _ **.**_

But has a reason this time because _never_ has she seen or heard her dad cry. Maybe he teared up a bit when Beca graduated college, but _nothing_ like this.

" _ **I'll never forgive myself for that, neglecting you and your music but I hope one day you'll find it in you to forgive me and let me be apart of your lifelong journey as a music producer,"**_ he continues, his voice barely audible as he fights back tears.

She wishes she could put up more of a fight with her dad. Make him really earn his right back into her life but she can't. Nor does she want to. This whole thing of shutting her dad out was immature. She knows that. She also knows that she already won. Proved that she could actually make it in the real world of music and become something he didn't think she could be.

And wanting to gloat for hours nonstop, brag until her breath gave out and shove it in his face that he was wrong like a pie with whip cream on it, she doesn't need to. It's already written in words according to Twitter, so what's the point of wasting her breath or time?

"I forgive you," Beca doesn't even hear herself say these words and at one point thinks she didn't say them at all and in reality just thought them. But then, she hears her dad choke back a sob that's obvious relief lifted straight off his shoulders.

" _ **You're going to do great work Beca and I can't wait to see what you can do. Thank you."**_

Beca wipes her eyes, feeling a little sting from them with the amount of crying she has done in the past 20 minutes. Taking a large inhale, she exhales before doing anything to change the subject.

She had enough crying for the day. "Yeah… Yeah no. You're my dad. I kinda need you in my life if this for some reason doesn't work out and I need some extra money in my account."

There's a groggy laugh under the tears and it makes Beca copy the action. " _ **Just like old times,"**_ It comes out softer and there's a few seconds of silence that takes over the call. Her dad clears his throat finally, " _ **I know you'll be busy, a lot busier with school and your new job but how do you feel about coming down for the weekend? Maybe next weekend?"**_

Beca's eyes widen and all around she thinks her breathing stops. Visiting him means going down to Georgia- which also before five minutes ago and the past four years, didn't even know he lived there. Didn't even know he and Sheila moved since she ignores all his posts and texts from him on Facebook.

" _ **I'd be more than happy to fly you out here on like a Friday morning? If you don't have class of course."**_

Thank God she signed up for a classes that mostly took part in Monday's, Tuesday's, and Thursday's, leaving her Friday's and Wednesday's empty. This means three days in Georgia. Three full days and also, a free flight to get down there.

How awesome!

Then, she thinks about Chloe and how she as well lives in Georgia, a half hour away to be exact and she doesn't even process her response before her mouth happily does it for her and she's agreeing to her father's offer at a blink of an eye.

" _ **Really?"**_ He sounds just as surprised as Beca feels because _oh my god_ she just agreed to see her dad who she hasn't seen in four years and that there just screams awkward. But she also doesn't care because agreeing to her dad is giving her the chance to _finally_ see Chloe.

And Beca would agree to literally _anything_ if seeing Chloe was an option in the equation, let's be honest.

"Yeah," she repeats her answer because even herself doesn't remember saying it. "Coming down would be pretty…. chill or whatever." Beca is trying to be beau real about this situation but on the inside, she's freaking the fuck out. "I have no classes Friday's so an early flight would be good. It'd be nice to….catch up." She breathes a heavy chuckle. It might be a little lie because her main focus was on seeing Chloe. But seeing her dad and his new house would be alright as well she guesses.

" _ **Wow, okay perfect. I then will look up some flights to get you down here. Next week sound good? Before classes get heavy?"**_

She wants to say find a flight right this instant, but knows that one, packing up this fast and leaving by itself would be strange and two, he probably wouldn't want to do that at such late notice. "Yeah that's good." So she settles for next Friday.

Seven days counting.

" _ **Sounds good. I want to say again how proud I am of you before you hang up. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get here."**_

Beca smiles into the device, looking over to her equipment and getting hit with the realization of what happened today. "Thanks dad. I'll talk to you soon?"

" _ **You bet kiddo."**_

They hang up and Beca thankfully has the chance to breathe for a bit. The call wasn't as awkward as she went in thinking it was going to be which was nice. And now, she is flying down to Georgia next week with the chance to see Chloe and that alone makes Beca heart skip right out of her chest.

Chloe is the next person she calls, needing to share this feeling with her and anticipating her reaction. Painfully, Chloe doesn't pick up when Beca calls the first time and she looks down at the clock on her phone and sees its around nine for Georgia's time. Beca thinks she is probably showering or what not before bed so she places her phone down on the table, eagerly waiting for the redhead to call her back.

The anticipation is eating her alive as she stares down at the motionless device. She's getting lots of notifications on her phone from Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook from her fans, she's assuming, after what Atlantic tagged her in and she had no other choice but to turn them off. Later, she'd look at all their comments but for right now, she needed her full attention for when Chloe calls her back so she could tell the redhead everything that happened today.

And also the fact that in seven days, she'd be in the same state as her.

Oh my God, just thinking about it makes Beca want to pass out.

It takes only a nanosecond for Chloe's name to light up across her screen before she hurried to pick up the device. "Hey!" She practically yells into the speaker.

" _Hey you. Sorry, I was cleaning the kitchen and I didn't hear my phone go off."_ Beca hears dishes clanking around in the background and she thinks Chloe is finishing up, or still doing some cleaning. " _What's up chicken butt?"_

"Okay first, I don't even know where to start or how to say it so, simple, sweet and straight to the point is how I'm going in." Beca takes a deep breath. "Emily and I worked on that song yesterday and perfected it enough to show Roger this afternoon. He liked it, Chlo! And same with Diplo!"

" _Oh my god….oh my god oh my god oh my god! What are you saying?! Of course they were going to like it, Becs! It was amazing!"_

Chloe was the second person to hear the demo of Emily's "Flashlight" (Stacie was first, like always) and if the over compliments from the redhead didn't show Beca how good the song really was, nothing would. "I got hired to work on his new album! You're now speaking to a real life _fucking_ music producer!"

" _OH MY GOD! BECA!"_ Chloe's voice is breaking due to how high her pitch is and Beca can feel that tickle in her nose again, warning her that the waterworks are seconds away from pouring. Having enough crying for the day-more like month, Beca clenches her eyes shut tight, trapping in the threatening tears so they wouldn't slip by.

 _"I knew you'd be great and I knew they'd love you! I can't believe you're going to work on an album with a celebrity!"_ Beca thinks that Chloe's voice might go hoarse with how much excitement is dripping from her words. _"How does that work with school and Emily and when do you start and oh my goodness I have so many questions!"_

Beca laughs because Chloe couldn't be any cuter. She didn't even think it was possible. "Well since it's only a few weeks into school, I have to go talk to my advisor to see if I can switch my classes to online courses and maybe a night class since I get off at six. I am only taking 8 credit courses, which is like three classes. UCLA has a ton of similar online stuff I need in order to get my BM in music, and since I already got my minor in business association, I don't need to worry about that. Atlantic is also being flexible since Diplo is on tour with Skrillex still. As for Emily, she's so young and has so much school to do and doesn't want to drop out her first year of college. Atlantic liked her alot and if she decides otherwise, they will look more into her demos and song writings," Beca tries to explain-though it's a lot. She hasn't even figured everything out yet so trying to explain it to Chloe was tricky.

" _Wow, this is the real deal. Big music producer during the day and by night, college book worm,”_ Chloe giggles sweetly.

"Yeah I mean, I could not take classes my senior year and devote my full time with producing, but I'm almost done. Also, I don't want these three years to be pointless since I'm already in debt." Beca laughs. "And I've been on track with credits so I could even graduate in December with all my degrees."

" _That's freaking amazing Beca I just…..am at a lost for words right now."_

"That's not even the best news, Beale." Words can't even explain how Beca is feeling right now, seconds away from telling Chloe the even _bigger_ news.

" _I'm positive that nothing can out beat that, Becs!"_ Chloe giggles again. "What _on earth could be better?"_

Oh Chloe, this can definitely out beat that.

With one last deep breath in and out,

"I'm coming to Georgia."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I had to research how to become a music producer because I had no clue XD I knew a little but not a lot. Also I didn't know if they get signed or hired so I went with hired…. Hopefully that's right lol  
> Things are moving fast for the two :) How will Chloe react to the news about Beca coming down to Georgia?


	8. New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me over hurrrrr omacagee (Tumblr)  
> ANY NEW READERS. I'm getting lots of reviews saying there's other Georgia's out in the world (I Know) I put that in this chapter because Beca is BAD at geography. It was suppose to be funny but I guess I was the only one who thought it was lol

_**Friday September 9, 6:34 PM** _

There's a God awful amount of silence both ends of the phone. No background noises, no TV playing softly in the background. There's not even the sound of breathing coming from Chloe’s end and Beca has to check her screen to make sure their call didn't get disconnected.

Of course, when she saw that Chloe's name was still at the top of her screen, just above all those icons and showing in numbers the amount of time they have been talking so far, Beca is worried that Chloe might've passed out-hence, why there was no breathing.

Does she call 911 or something?

"Chloe...?"

Again, Beca doesn't hear anything coming from Chloe's end of the call and it's beginning to worry her if maybe she said the wrong thing. Like, maybe Chloe doesn't want Beca to come down to Georgia so they could possibly meet-like Beca is planning on doing and she is thinking of possible escape routes to avoid her while she is down there. That's why there is dead silence coming from the other line.

And if that's true, Chloe not wanting to see her or whatever, Beca might as well dig her grave now because she is positive that her heart won't make it without being shattered.

Beca actually jumps at the sound of breathing once again and thank god she wasn't the cause of Chloe's death. " _What did you say?"_ Finally, there's something, a noise, her actual voice through the speaker and Beca can relax for a bit-though she expected a way different reaction from Chloe than the one she is getting now. Chloe's voice was low, extremely low and Beca was surprised she heard anything at all.

"I uh," All of a sudden Beca is nervous-more nervous than before she had her interview with Roger at Atlantic and she can't help but feel the food she had for lunch slowly rise from the pit of her stomach. "My dad lives in… _Georgia_." Maybe, now that she is thinking about it, probably should've mentioned something this big to Chloe a while back. Perhaps, maybe when they first exchanged numbers but in Beca's defense, her and her dad cut off all communication other than social media and though she was familiar with him moving away from Oregon, she didn't know where he moved, nor did she care. "He's uhh, flying me out Friday morning of next week to amend broken bridges or whatever." She chuckles nervously and the phone nearly slips from her grasp due to the amount of sweat covering her palms.

Chloe, just like before, doesn't say anything and now, Beca is kind of getting irritated because if she doesn't want to see her, just come out and say she doesn't. Not this silent treatment bullshit that she has been doing for the past five minutes.

And Beca is about to say something about it until she hears a boisterous sound of a glass shattering and then Chloe is squealing through the phone with Aubrey in the background asking if she is out of her damn mind, Tank barking nonstop Beca assumes due to the monstrous volume in the sound and Beca has to pull the device away from her ear at all the chaotic noises.

" _Jesus,_ Beale! What the fuck was that!?" She asks when she realizes Chloe just broke something- something pretty big by the sound of it and may or may not be injured and then, her ear is ringing again with another loud pitch sound that causes Beca to retract the phone away from her ear hastily. If she wasn't deaf before, she sure as Hell is now.

" _Oh my God!"_ Beca hears this just in time when she lifts the phone back to her ear, a little hesitant because she probably will burst an eardrum if she hears that banshee like sound again from Chloe, and Aubrey is still be annoying as ever, yelling in the background about the broken glass scattered across the kitchen's tile-like the glass is going to cause a chemical leak or something. And it makes Beca laugh that Chloe is totally blind sighted by the mess of whatever she dropped and just going off in complete gibberish that no one can make out.

" _Beca…..Georgia…...Friday…..Bree….omg!"_ Is all Beca can hear as she assumes the phone is nowhere near Chloe's mouth and the only bits of the sentence that sounds like English.

" _Are you serious?! Like Georgia Georgia!? Like….where we live-I live!? Atlanta freaking Georgia?!"_ Chloe says back in the speaker, voice full of disbelief and hurried.

"Yup. The one surrounded by Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and one of the Carolinas. I'm not too sure because I'm _awful_ at geography. Maybe even both." Beca laughs because duh, she didn't even know Sandy Hills was in Georgia until Stacie told her so.

" _Oh my God….like Georgia in the United States?!"_

"Beale, I'm pretty sure there is only one Georgia in the entire world." Beca laughs at this and rolls her eyes. She may be awful at geography but at least she knows that.

" _Chloe, what is going on?"_ This voice sounds like Aubrey by the stern tone and thank the lord she isn't yelling anymore. Aubrey sounds a lot like someone who has had a stick up their ass for years, Beca notes, causing herself to laugh because come on, she's pretty damn funny. " _Beca is coming to Georgia!"_

" _No way! When?"_

Beca is about to answer Aubrey's question but it seems like they're having their own little conversation.

" _Next Friday in the morning I think!"_

" _Is she coming here? For how long?"_

Yup, still just awkwardly waiting on the other line, listening in on Chloe and Aubrey's conversation-which happens to be about her.

" _I don't know!"_

" _Why is she coming?"_

" _I don't know, Bree!"_

"I mean, I can tell you all of these things if you would actually talk to me." Beca snickers, her voice appearing back into the conversation.

" _Oh shit sorry, Becs! Aubrey, quit distracting me!"_ Aubrey's voice starts to fade but Beca can make out the retort about how it was Chloe's fault for dropping and breaking a plate for her even being in the kitchen in the first place. Chloe then mumbles something about being excited over the news and that she will clean it up later before a door closes and she’s ruffling around in what sounds like bed sheets.

" _Okay, sorry about that."_ Chloe blows out some air, settling down. " _Start with everything. Why, when and for how long."_

"Like I said, my dad lives in Georgia-"

" _Wait, he's lived in Georgia this whole time?! Where at?"_

Beca rolls her eyes with a smile at Chloe's hurried eagerness as she cuts off in the middle of what she was saying. Then she apologizes for interrupting before allowing Beca to continue. "No he hasn't." Beca says slowly. "He lived in Oregon where we grew up but once I left for college, him and Sheila, my stepmonster, moved to Georgia and have been living down there ever since I guess-"

" _What?! Where in Georgia?! Atlanta?"_

"Well I was getting there if _someone_ didn't interrupt me," Chloe begins her next several apologies and urges Beca to continue and that she won't interrupt again. But Beca knows Chloe will probably end up doing it again. Her voice is cute nonetheless and forgives her anyways. "He lives in Sandy Hills…" Beca hears Chloe gasp quite loudly and was prepared to hear yet another interruption from the redhead but it sounded like Chloe bit her tongue, stopping her from doing so. God, she was so stinkin’ cute with her overflowing excitement.

"And I called him when I heard the news about Atlantic since Stacie guilt tripped me into doing so. She also was the one who told me Sandy Hills was actually in Georgia," Beca snickers, embarrassed that she didn't already know this information. "But yeah, called him and talked for a bit, then he asked if I would like to come down for the weekend, preferably before school and producing Diplo's album becomes overwhelming and I said yeah."

" _This is so exciting! As you can probably already tell!"_ Chloe giggles. _"So you're coming to Georgia? Coming to Sandy Hills to visit your dad?"_

"Uhh yeah.."

Beca wants to tell her absolutely not and she's going for Chloe. She isn't just freeing up her schedule at such short notice to do this for her father so they can what? Make up? Have a big kumbaya? No that's stupid. If it weren't for Chloe living a half hour away, Beca would've said no to the offer because even though her dad and her made up, she still wouldn't want to spend the weekend with him. God, that would be awful.

But since Chloe lives so close to where her Dad does, she took the offer in a heartbeat. Even if Chloe lived an hour away, 2, probably even 3, she'd still go.

"Actually no...well kind of. I mostly want to go to Georgia to like….see you…"

" _Really?"_

"I mean...yeah." Beca spins the same damn quarter she has had in her hands since the call with her dad and thinks of a way to explain how much she wants to see Chloe without sounding like a total creep. "We've been talking for a while and although I love our conversations on the phone and through text, I want more."

" _I feel the same way, Becs."_ Beca breathes out a relaxed puff of air and she doesn't have to worry about Chloe not wanting to see her. " _I was seriously just looking at my schedule for next month, seeing if I could catch a plane down there for the weekend and come see you."_

"Well good thing I beat you to it."

" _I can't believe this is actually happening.. I-I…. I am finally going to be able to see you."_

 _Same_. Beca thinks to herself.

She still is having a hard time grasping the realization that in a week, she'll be talking to the girl who's been on her mind since the first night they met and not just talking to her through a crappy piece of technology. No. She'll be face to face with her.

And Beca doesn't really know how to feel right now and it's a terrifying excitement that tingles through her entire body, pricking her skin with tiny, invisible spikes.

But is one that she is counting down the days for.

* * *

_**Saturday September 10, 7:32 AM ( 6 days )** _

**B: Good morning :-)**

_C: IS THIS BECA?_

_C: Where's Beca and what did you do with her?_

**B: Haha why do you always do that when I text you in the morning?**

_C: I don't believe you… Prove it_

_C: And because the Beca I KNOW never wakes up this early….well, LA early, especially on a Saturday!_

**B: -_- Fine**

Beca exits out of her conversation with Chloe and clicks into her camera. "Oh god!" The horror show Beca isn't prepared for when the front camera has a full and clear view of her face-which, isn't a pretty one by her birds nest of a hairdo, her double chin and squinty sleep eyes that make her look like a panda without his black- and she groans, quickly flipping her phone over to fix the mess before her screen shatters. When she makes her hair presentable by the amount of times she ran her fingers through the endless knots, she grabs her phone to take a picture.

First of all, selfies this early in the morning should be illegal because no one should be able to look hot after just waking up. Especially this early. That's Beca's case for sure.

After multiple shots that looked identical but Beca swears she could find something wrong in each- like her hair was flat, or the angle of her face was awkward and not her "good side" or the camera wasn't focused- she finally settles on a picture to send.

Now she has roughly around 20 selfies in her camera roll that all look the exact same.

In the picture she's in bed still, wearing a long sleeve, black and white baseball t-shirt and is flipping off the camera with her best impersonation of the 'duck face.' Her eyes are closed because she soon realized that until she puts on makeup or has some more time to wake up, they'll stay the same tiny size that nobody should ever have to see.

Especially Chloe.

She sends the picture and almost instantly does Chloe read the message. Those little dots in reply don't pop up and Beca assumes that Chloe is looking at her embarrassing selfie that now she has the time to look back on it and why the fuck did she send such an awful one to Chloe without getting ready? Also, this was the first selfie or picture Beca has exchanged with Chloe in the duration they have been talking and wasn't even one to set the bar high.

Oh well. At least with the bar set low, she can send more and gradually with time, they will become better and better.

_C:You are so cute! ;) Even though you are giving me the finger, meanie :(_

_C: Didn't actually think you'd send me a picture but glad you did ;)_

**B: I'm not cute Beale**

_C: Yes you ARE!_

_C: Especially in a baseball shirt….phew! ;)_

**B …..**

**B: Okay bye I'm going back to sleep.**

_C: No! :(_

_C: You're up, you texted me, now you're stuck talking to me ;)_

_C: Sorry not sorry :)_

**B: Oh am I?**

_C: Yup! :)_

_C: What are you doing up so early?! What time is it there?_

**B: Couldn't really sleep.**

**B: And it's almost 8**

_C: Why? Did you have bad night or something? Don't feel good?_

**B: Always so worried ;-)**

**B: I was talking to you all night and talking to you is never bad so no, it wasn't that.**

**B: I feel fine and I don't know. I'm just happy I guess**

**B: Kinda don't want to sleep if I could be talking to you**

**B: plus knowing that in a week, I'll be in the same state as you is enough to make me tweak out and never fall asleep again**

_C: Awe Becs :)_

_C: I feel the same way!_

**B: Can't tell if you're making fun of me or not…**

_C: No I'm not making fun of you! Lol_

_C: I mean it, I love talking to you and super ecstatic about you coming to Georgia :D_

**B: Well luckily for you, I have nothing all weekend, except mandatory bonding time with Stacie where she'll probably make me go get my nails done with her again..**

**B: But other than that, we have the whole weekend to talk :-)**

**B: That is if you aren't busy…**

_C: Free as a bird ;)_

_C: that is after my morning workout outs with Aubrey and one of my online classes I have to do_

_C: Usually you aren't up this early anyways so I get it all done. There's even time where I'm waiting for you to wake up since you sleep till the afternoon-which is evening for me :P_

**B: Well things are going to change :-)**

**B: You go work out. It will give me time to shower and cook something for Stacie and I**

_C: You're going to cook for me when you get here right? ;)_

_C: Or teach me how to cook?_

**B: Of course :-)**

**B: Might make you more useful around the house ;-)**

_C: :O I AM USEFUL!_

_C: I clean A LOT and love to do laundry!_

**B: Ew. Who loves to do laundry?**

**B: Well okay, if I cook, you can do all the dishes and my laundry ;-)**

_C: Hmmmmmm deal :D_

_C: I cannot wait until you're here Beca_

**B: Same Beale.**

**B: Sammmme here :-)**

* * *

_**Sunday September 11, 8:30 AM (5 days)** _

Beca wakes up the next morning feeling on top of the world- which is very unusual for her as majority of the time when she wakes up, her appearance looks like crap, she feels like crap and definitely isn't the nicest morning person to be around. But today on this beautiful morning in California as the sun shines bright and not a cloud in sight, Beca can't find a single thing to dwell on or be angry about. If a care bear took a human form, it would look and feel exactly how Beca is feeling right this second.

She yawns big as she stretches up from her bed, groaning in pleasure when all the joints in her body pop and she checks her phone on the charger.

Again, it doesn't surprise her that she woke up earlier than usual, knowing that she hasn't slept in really over the past two weeks, let alone sleep till till ten. Usually and if it were anyone else, she'd be pissed about missing out on the sleep that she didn't need. But it's Chloe she's waking up for and she can't really be upset with a little extra time to talk to the redhead. Also, Chloe's right when she says that waking up early gets you ahead of plans you have throughout the day, leaving you with endless activities to do. Beca was always one to wake up late and have to do everything she needed in the span time during the afternoon with only the night time to relax. Who knew getting everything done early in the morning would allow you the rest of the day to do whatever?

Beca sure didn't.

As she checks the current time, she sees that her notifications are blowing up by the second. Twitter is the first one she checks and it's not shocking that her fans are commenting up the butt about the tweet Atlantic tagged her in, now talking about the contract signed with Diplo. Every single of the comments warms her heart as multiple people tell her that they always knew she'd make it big one day and they can't wait for Beca's next masterpiece as she takes on a real life album with _thee_ Diplo himself. She hasn't met any of these people before but already feels as if they helped her get to where she is today. She composes a mass tweet to her fans, telling them how much she appreciates their sweet words and that she'd be nowhere without their support. You know, the typical big artist tweet that probably doesn't mean jack shot but to Beca, she's honest.

There's still handfuls of mentions asking who Chloe is and if there is anything going on between them romantically. And since she was tagged in a picture from Chloe, the one with the sunflowers she bought her a few days back, that of course sends a tornado of questions from her fans, demanding some answers about the sexy redhead this instant. She has a little fun and tells majority of them that she's a pretty cool chick who she may or may not be chatting with and leaves it open ended so her fans can ponder over whatever their mind desires.

Maybe make some more photoshopped pictures of her and Chloe where it looks like they met each other in real life, hashtagging _Bechloe_ as the comment underneath. Those were definitely a first and something that took Beca completely off guard. She does have to admit though, the pictures look pretty impressive and can give her crazy fans that.

Instagram is where she goes next and it's mostly the same thing, people commenting on Chloe's photo asking the same damn questions over, and over again.

" _Beca got her flowers! They're so dating!"_

" _This is so goals!"_

" _Are they dating?!"_

" _This is so freaking cute!"_

Part of Beca feels bad because Chloe is now getting harassed by people she has no clue who they are and doesn't even know the answer to half of their questions. That's something a little scary to experience if you've never had to experience it before. Chloe and her don't talk really about where they stand as far as "relationship wise." Beca knows there's something there, something strong and there's flirting (a lot) and all that good stuff. So, even she doesn't know how she would answer her fans if it got to that point.

One comment in particular catches Beca's eye as she's scrolling down the never ending list that seems to keep getting longer and longer by the second.

" _Where do I find myself a Beca Mitchell?!"_

Is the comment and Beca sees that Chloe only took the time in responding to this one.

" _Nowhere. Girl is one of a kind and a girl who's all mine ;)"_

And that explains why Chloe's photo is getting even more comments than before because just like Chloe does best, rials them up with these riddle like comments.

Beca on her end, can't help but smile like a cheese ball as she reads the comment over and over again, the feeling of butterflies flapping against her ribcage never seeming to go away. She also can't help but picture Chloe's words on a hallmark card or something equally as cheesy.

What a romantic that's for sure.

As she reads the other crazy comments these people were saying, Beca gets an email from her dad as the notification banners at the top of her screen and puts her into a coma when she reads what it is. It's from Delta Airlines and Beca doesn't have to open the email to know it's her plane ticket for Friday. Her dad tells her 6 in the morning was the only one he could find from LA to Atlanta that would get her there at a reasonable time, and she winces a bit when she realizes that the flight is early as shit and no one should be operating a plane that early in the morning.

It's very concerning actually.

But then she thinks about how in the end, she gets to see Chloe, and that's enough to make her forget about anything revolving the flight- except of course the time she is suppose to land.

He also tells her that he won't be able to get off work until the night because he still has classes that day and to try and find a cab to take her to his house. Many problems appear when reading this, one of them being that she absolutely hates taxis-like is a huge phobia of hers ever since she moved to California and had to take one everywhere she went. She promised herself never again and meant it. So finding a ride once in Atlanta might be tricky.

She replies a thank you to him and that she'll figure out transportation when the time gets closer. As for now, her main attention is on Chloe and telling her that everything is booked and ready to go.

Now, everything was _actually_ happening and had to share it with at least someone.

First though, before she ends up texting Chloe because she knows once she talks to the girl, everything else will go in one ear, out the other, she checks her text messages and nearly chokes on her saliva when she reads the little red circle with the number of unread messages she has.

Majority of them for the most part are from yesterday when she remembers getting the texts but never ended up replying. What? She was talking to Chloe all night and just forgot. Sue her.

_**Saturday September 10, 5:34 PM** _

_Aubrey Posen: Hey, just wanted to formally say congratulations on the record deal. Also, I'm looking forward to seeing you this coming Friday. Maybe we can fix your wardrobe up a bit._

_**Saturday September 10, 5:55 PM** _

_Fat Amy: Shawshank! Congrats on the job DJ! Booze cruise in my honors for your sexy ass_

_Cynthia Rose: I always knew you could do this Beca! Can't believe I'm friends with an actual producer. Don't forget about your college friends when you get all big a famous now ;)_

_**Saturday September 10, 6:33 PM** _

_Stacie Conrad: Stuck at the library with my lab group. You can go ahead and have dinner without me :(_

_Stacie Conrad: save me leftovers though!_

_**Saturday September 10, 6:40 PM** _

_Sheila Step Monster: Beca I know we aren't on good terms but I want to say how proud I am of you! I just looked online and about cried when I saw the news about Atlantic's new music producer. Beca, this is amazing! Warren told me you're coming down Friday?_

_**Saturday September 10, 8:34 PM** _

_Smoothie Girl: Hey stranger! ;) or should I say, big time music producer ;)_

_Smoothie Girl: That's so cool Beca! Congrats! :D_

_Smoothie Girl: We should so totally hang out or something :) I miss you already!_

Whoa now. The last time Beca heard from Madi was the time they had lunch together. Other than that, Beca avoided her messages, pokes on Facebook and subtweets on Twitter. But of course now, once Atlantic reveals some heavy news about her, smoothie girl comes back at full force? And really, how can she miss Beca when still, they hardly even know each other? They had one lunch together that lasted about 30 mins, not a reunion where they shared their life stories.

Beca is not a booty call.

_**Sunday September 11, 8:45 AM** _

**B: Thanks Aubrey and didn't Chloe tell you? The first thing we are doing when I get back is taking you to a tattoo and piercing parlor ;-) Better get ready to freshen up your mom look**

**B: Thanks Sheila. Yeah I am, pretty stoked. I'll see you then**

Aubrey and Sheila are the only ones Beca replies to and even deleted the smoothie girl's number from her contact list. She never even really wanted the girls number anyways so why keep it? Also, she will probably end up seeing Cynthia and Amy around later so she figures they'll just congratulate her again.

After all that, she decides to pull up her conversation with Chloe, eager to tell her that her dad booked her flight.

**B: You'll never guess what I got.**

_**Sunday September 11, 8:57 AM** _

_C: hmmmmm, I think you're right…_

_C: What did you get? :)_

Beca goes into her emails and screenshots the flight ticket her dad sent, sending it to Chloe via picture message.

_C: OH MY GOD! It's actually happening! :D_

_C: Wait, you're flying into Hartsfield?_

**B: Yeah why? Is there more than one airport in Atlanta? Haha**

_C: Maybe small ones but that doesn't matter!_

_C: What matters is that Hartsfield is like ten minutes tops away from my house!_

Beca thinks about this. Thinks about what her dad said and how she needs to find a ride to get to his house or she'll end up stranded in humid weather and around complete strangers in a big ass airport and with a light bulb now shining on top of her head, she thinks about Chloe and how duh, she lives in Atlanta and now she found out that she lives pretty damn close to the airport.

What on earth should she do?

**B: Oh that's cool!**

**B: So what time you picking me up? ;-)**

**B: Jk Jk**

Beca types that she is joking and doesn't really mean she wants to meet up with the redhead but in reality, she really would like for Chloe to pick her up at the airport. They haven't really talked about the plans regarding meeting up while she is down there, so why not gradually ease into that conversation with a subtle implication that she needs a ride and wants it to be Chloe.

_C: No that's a great idea!_

Beca thinks she feels fireworks going off in her stomach but isn't too sure. All she knows is that on the outside, she's calm and content but on the inside, she's freaking the fuck out.

_C: I have no class on Friday and would just be sitting at home anyways so why not let me pick you up?_

**B: You sure that wouldn't be an inconvenience?**

_C: Pshh please!_

_C: I'd love to! :) Anything to see your face :D_

_C: That is unless you have another ride lol_

**B: Honestly, my dad couldn't pick me up because he teaches at the University of Ottawa and still has classes. So I would've ended up catching a cab, which I do not want to do haha**

**B: So yes, I'd love if you could pick me up because I want to see you too :-)**

_C: Omg!_

_C: Yes of course yes! I'd love to pick you up :D_

_C: Aubrey's off too and I would love for you two to meet. We could all do something too! Get lunch?_

**B: Sounds good, I'm going to tell my dad that I'll stay Friday night through Saturday morning because he wants to take me out to dinner and such but you want to do something Saturday night?**

_C: Like a date?_

_C: Not a friend date...but a date date?_

Maybe this wasn't exactly how Beca wanted to ask Chloe but she was limited with her resources and only had technology to help-which would take way too much time to edit a two minute video of tumblr pictures and sayings, asking Chloe out, or something oafy like that.

She's more than relieved that Chloe could read her mind for her.

**B: Yeah…**

**B: Like a date date.**

_C: I would want nothing more than to go on a date with you Ms. Mitchell :)_

**B: Awesome :-)**

**B: I'm pretty cool, you're gonna like me**

**B: Pretend like I never sent that…**

_C: Lol! Absolutely NOT! ;) I'm going to screenshot it and everything._

_C: Keep it in my album of adorable texts Beca has sent me ;)_

**B: You have a whole album?**

_C: Oh wow! I need to shower! ;) Brb!_

**B: JESUS NOT THIS AGAIN.**

_C: Talk to you sooooonnnn xoxox_

**B: UGH**

* * *

_**Monday September 12, 6:02 PM (4 days)** _

_C: How was your first day today as a big time music producer? :)_

_C: just creeped on Diplo's Twitter and saw an adorable picture of you and him ;) so tiny!_

**B: Stop Beale…. And yeah, had to sign a bunch of contracts to the label and he was there.**

**B: But ugh today was exhausting.**

_C: Why what happened? :(_

**B: well like I said, I signed a contract to Atlantic and before Stacie spent the whole day googling what to look for and what to make sure is written in print before actually signing. Just in case I don't get screwed over. Then she got me on the phone with a handful of lawyers and had to go over plans regarding studio time, the album as a whole with Diplo's manager.**

**B: Then had to go talk to my advisor and change my classes to online or night. Thank god I could still do that without any problems. I now have one night class and two online courses that I could finish in the winter. Then boom, done with college.**

**B: It's just, everything is moving so fast and it's sorta like a slap in the face with reality you know? Like how did I deserve something like this so young? I'm terrified of failing.**

_C: I don't exactly know the ins and outs of the music industry and how hard it really is but what I do know is that you deserve this position more than anybody and have worked your ass off to get to where you are now. There's going to be great days and there's destined to be bad. Awful even. But don't you think once that you don't deserve this Beca. The things you do with music should be illegal. You're talent, SO talented and I see you going far Mitchell so don't lose hope now._

**B: Boy, you do know the right things to say.**

**B: Thank you Chlo**

_C: Of course. Everyone needs a reminder every now and then at how amazing they truly are ;)_

**B: Hey, that's my line!**

_C: Learned from the best! :)_

* * *

_**Tuesday September 13, 9:45 AM (3 days)** _

Beca wakes up the next morning, ready to grab the bull by the horns and attack the day head on. Maybe if she goes in with a better attitude, the day won't be so shitty and stressful like it was yesterday. At least now she got rid of all the phone calls she had to make in order to get things rolling. With those out of the way, she can get a head start on creating a few new sounds she's had in the back of her mind for Diplo's album. Also, rumor was that Ed Sheeran was going to be in the studio today so that's like an automatic amazing day waiting to happen.

On her phone, she sees a missed call from Chloe and a voicemail-which was at like 3 in the morning first of all- and decides to listen to it.

_***New voicemail from Chloe Beale*** _

_**Tuesday September 13, 3:30 AM** _

" _Hey you. I know you're sleeping but I wanted to let you know that I have a lesson plan today so again, I'll be gone until around six. Sorry for calling so early too. I just wanted to say good morning before work and I hope today is a better day for you. Keep your head up buttercup *giggles* okay bye!"_

Beca concludes that Chloe is the cutest thing she has ever been introduced to. She bets that if she were to look up Chloe's name in urban dictionary, all she would see is cute this, cute that and God she's so beautiful.

Curious now, Beca types in the girl's name and being right, there's nothing but a long paragraph describing her inner and outer beauty and a girl with a smile that could light up your whole day. Beca though thinks this is slightly incorrect because she is positive Chloe's smile has lit up her whole future.

She's a little disappointed that Chloe is going to be busy all day and can't call her if her work gets a little too chaotic, but understands that she has to do things for school. It also helps that she has three days until she gets to see Chloe in person and that alone is enough to have her bouncing off of walls.

**B: You're definitely teaching right now but I enjoyed hearing your voice so early in the morning. I think that if today gets rough, I'll just listen to your voicemail until I'm happy again, not that I need to listen to it more than once because the first time had me smiling like a goof. I hope YOU have a good day and get a lot of singing done :-)**

**B: Text me when you're out**

Closing out of her phone, Beca gets up to head downstairs when she hears the TV blaring from the living room and knows Stacie is already up and doing god knows what. The past few days have kinda been crazy for the both of them to say; her with spending most her time at Atlantic and Stacie focusing her school work at the library most often than not. And though Stacie lectured her though the do's and don'ts of the basic aspect of things; lawyers, contracts, who to trust, who to not trust, Beca hasn't been able to see her friend as much as she would like, even when living together. Yes, a little space was enough and needed but it's been quite a bit since she's heard an inappropriate sex joke that made her skin crawl with uncomfortableness.

She needed her Stacie fix.

When she gets downstairs, Stacie is  watching today's pop music videos on MTV and is currrntly engaging in doing what looked like practiced sex poses, but the longer she looks, it might've been yoga.

Beca's not too sure.

"I'm pretty sure this is illegal." Beca makes herself present from behind Stacie with her arms crossed above her chest and wearing a joking smirk across her mouth. Stacie turns her head around at the voice, still very much in her sexual position on a bright turquoise map and to add to her current state, she was half naked, wearing a matching blue nike sports bra and tight black spandex.

Did Beca also mention they were very short? Very, _very_ short?

"I'm just getting my daily yoga in, Becs." Stacie smiles at her friend and resumes her exercising.

It always amazed her how incredibly good looking Stacie was. With the long and extremely toned legs that went for miles, a pair of tits that women would kill for and men would kill just to see. She has that long, chocolate brown hair that resembled a celebrity's from one of those Pantene commercials. Selena Gomez has nothing on her that's for sure.

And Beca can't help but be impressed with two things. One, she never once had the hots for Stacie and wanted something more than friends. Okay, that's a lie. Maybe she _thought_ about it once when she was drunk but helloooo, she was drunk, and it didn't help that high schoolers dared each other to make out for some free booze and Stacie is one to jump off a cliff if alcohol is involved. The second thing was how the hell was Stacie still single? Beca guesses that nobody meets Stacie's standards and is enough to be girlfriend/boyfriend material.

"Yoga? I'm pretty sure I saw that move in a porno once," Beca teases, sitting in the couch diagonal from Stacie and in response, gets the middle finger up high and proud.

"It's called _the frog,_ Beca, and it's very relaxing. Plus, stretches you out like no other." Stacie gets up from the floor and moves into a tree pose, showing off her toned abs under her flawless, California tanned skin that Beca envied so much. Curse her genes for allowing her to burn so easy. "School has me pulling out my hair already and it's only three weeks in. I need some relaxation or I'll end up with wrinkles."

Beca rolls her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you'll still look like a supermodel at the age of 60."

"Awh Becs!" Stacie gushes with a beaming smile that Beca can't help but shake her head at in effort to get rid of a similar forming grin. 

The commercial ends quickly and Where Are You Now's music video appears on the widescreen TV and Justin Bieber begins to sing softly through their surround sound. Beca loved this song. Always has. And although she wasn't much of a "Belieber," she could admit that the song was pretty catchy. She does like to think that it was Diplo and Skrillex to make the song gold though with the amazing drop after Bieber's vocals and not actually Justin Bieber himself.

That at least makes her feel better for liking the song so much.

"I cannot believe you're going to start working with Diplo, Becs." Stacie pauses her yoga and walks over to where Beca is sitting down on the couch and grabs her bottle of water on the the table. "And shit, you even met Skrillex! It's still so surreal."

She's telling Beca.

Every morning, Beca thinks she's living an actual dream and every time she goes in for work, she has to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't actually true. How could a mediocre, YouTube DJ go from making mashups on a laptop to meeting multiple famous DJs who want to work with her for their next album? It was crazy still just even thinking about it.

"Ed Sheeran might be there today too," Beca casually says without a hint of excitement. Stacie on the other hand gasps, and turns so fast on the couch to face Beca that she thinks the girl might've pulled something in her neck.

"Are you serious?! Oh my god that's so crazy! Can you get me his autograph? Or how about my number?!"

Beca about misses half the other things Stacie says at this point when her head arches back against the headrest on their couch and she is laughing at the ceiling. "You sound just like Chloe when I told her last night." Kinda ironic that a ginger's favorite musician is also a ginger. Coincidence?

"Um yeah! Anybody with a set of working ears would go gaga over Ed Fucking Sheeran!"

"I am going gaga over Ed. Just keeping it on the down low."

"Okay wow. Now you guys are on a first name basis?!" Stacie takes the back of her hand and smacks Beca in the arm-which doesn't make sense. Why was Beca getting beat up for meeting someone famous?

Cough cough, Stacie, your jealousy is showing.

"Speaking of Chloe, it's almost Friday. Are you excited? Soon you'll be finger banging her up close and personal instead of through your own personal hotline."

Well, there's inappropriate comment number one for the day that she has missed so much; or so she thought. Beca ignores the last comment and focuses on the part where Stacie asked if she was excited.

Which was an understatement. Beca exhales a heavy breath. "Yeah...I am. A little nervous-" Stacie squints her eyes and Beca catches last minute before finishing what she is saying. "-okay a lot nervous. Fucking terrified actually."

"It's exciting, Becs! You finally get to meet someone you've been talking to online. That's pretty fucking magical in my opinion." Stacie shrugs her shoulders, taking a small sip of her water.

"Yeah I know. It's a weird feeling. What if she ends up hating me when we meet? What if I'm way different than what she expected and ends up leaving me at the airport?" These were all possible options going off inside Beca's head.

"Okay, chill drama queen. That's not going to happen," Stacie assures with smile, reaching her hand to grabs Beca's form arm and gives the area a gentle squeeze. "Chloe is going to love you because who wouldn't? You're funny, talented, the sweetest person I know even though you don't show it. But all around, you're an amazing person inside and out."

Beca smiles genuinely. "Thanks, Stace. You know, you could still come down with me. My dad I'm sure would love to see you too."

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, Physics has a hand around my throat, and not in the good way." Beca scrunches her face at the vivid and very much not wanted image about her best friend. "You're only gone for 3 days?"

"Yep. Chloe's picking me up at the airport at around 1 Georgia's time when I land and then I'm going to hang out with her and Aubrey for a bit."

"Aubrey?" Stacie quirks an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name. "Is that her roommate?"

"Yeah, remember that blonde I showed you?"

"Hottie blondie with the body?" Beca snickers at the rhyme and nickname for Aubrey Stacie created for the girl when one day she asked Beca who the blonde was on Chloe's profile. Stacie was now following Chloe and vice versa and if that doesn't scream that things are getting pretty serious between her and Chloe, nothing will.

"Yep that's her," Beca confirms. "She's also very single and ready to mingle so like, get on that or something."

"Oh no. Long distance doesn't work for Stacie Conrad. I need a physical relationship you know that." Stacie gets up from the couch and walks back over to her yoga mat. "I'm surprised a horn ball like you can stick through one with Chloe. No offence." Beca grumbles out a 'non taken' while rolling her eyes. She was not a horn ball. Unlike Stacie, she can keep it in her pants.

"Chloe and I aren't dating. Like official. Yes I would like there to be something more but this weekend is about testing the waters. See if things would actually work between the two of us," Beca explains and Stacie gets into another pose, nodding her head in understanding.

"Have you Skyped?" Stacie asks from where her head is bent over as she copies the downward dog pose. When Beca doesn't answer she lifts her head and see Beca averting her eyes away from the taller girl. "Please tell me you video chat…"

"Yeah about that…." Beca starts nervously and plays with the string connected to her sweatpants. Maybe she could make a run for it before Stacie lectures her like she is seconds away from doing by the look on her face.

"Beca!" Yep, it's too late now. "You need to skype or something with her! I'm not saying that she is fake or whatever but there are shows on TV that make online dating sketchy as fuck. You don't want to get there and Chloe be a pervy old dude! I'm just being safe."

"Okay okay, I know!" Beca raises her hands up to surrender. She knows Stacie is right. It's just something that should be done before meeting in person. "I'll talk to her about it." She gets up from the couch, deciding to get ready for work and also to leave before she gets lectured even more by her friend.

"Let's get breakfast before work? I need my Beca time before I spend a whole weekend without you." Beca hears Stacie from halfway up the stairs.

Shaking her head with a laugh, "sounds good loser."

* * *

_**Wednesday September 14, 6:34 PM (2 days)** _

**B: So I have a question**

_C: Oh no._

_C: Another round of Twenty questions?! :D_

**B: Oh god no haha**

**B: Just one single question.**

_C: Ask away :)_

This is the tricky part.

Beca has been thinking a lot about what Stacie said yesterday with the whole Skyping situation and after taking in some facts, she'd really love to see Chloe before actually _seeing_ Chloe in person. It might take some of the nerves away when she she's going down the escalators at Atlanta's airport as Chloe waits for her at the bottom. Just thinking about it makes Beca's stomach uneasy and she begins to nervous sweat.

And nothing is cute about nervous sweating.

**B: Uhhh….**

_C: ….?_

How does she go about this question so formally without making it seem a little sketchy?

**B: I wanna see your body**

And that, ladies and gents, is a perfect example on how NOT to go about the situation. God, why the fuck would she send that?!

Dumb move Mitchell.

DUMB. MOVE.

**B: I mean not your body body. Naked body or whatever. I don't want to see that. No way Jose!**

**B: Wait, no.**

**B: I mean I DO want to see it, really bad actually**

**B: FUCK! Forget that I said that oh my god..**

Just keep digging your hole Mitchell.

You'll be in it sooner than later. Great job.

**B: What I'm trying to say is that I wanna see your face….like through a webcam**

_C: Oh wow, that was hard to watch ;)_

_C: Sorry but I was interested in exotic dancing, not porn ;)_

**B: No no!**

**B: Totally didn't mean it like that**

**B: You know what, forget it. I think I'm going to go curl up in a ball and die**

_C: LOL! I'm just kidding Beca!_

_C: You mean you wanna skype right or FaceTime?_

**B: Yes! God yes.**

**B: You're evil Beale. Evil.**

_C: Sorry it was just too funny not to tease you a bit ;)_

_C: But my skype name is chloboxo. Just add me and we can talk for a bit before I have to get some sleep :)_

Already prepared, Beca has her laptop in her lap and types in Chloe's contact name when she launches the app. As she types, her fingers are trembling at the realization that she is seconds away from talking to Chloe through a webcam. It's not nearly as intense as seeing her in person, but seeing an actual image to match the voice is scary enough.

Beca sees that Chloe is already online and she's about to click the call button until the redhead's icon picture for her profile distracts her from doing so.

It's nothing much; Chloe with her arm around Aubrey's neck, who has the largest grin on her face and is giving the blonde a kiss on the cheek, it looks like a graduation photo because they're more dressed up than one would wear on a casual day hangout at the mall. Their friendship is sweet and honestly, Beca is pretty excited to meet the blonde herself.

She won't admit it but deep down, it's true.

Beca smiles one last time before taking a few deep breaths after staring at the button for what feels like a solid ten minutes before calling Chloe. Once the app began ringing, it was like Beca's body was just injected with adrenaline or something tweaky like that because she felt the sudden urge to get up and pace or maybe hang up and never call back, claiming this whole skype thing was stupid and she changed her mind. Her thumb nail is basically gone as she gnaws on the nail till she hits skin and her leg is bouncing up and down at an incredibly fast speed she might end up pulling a hammy.

And she totally didn't even check the mirror to make sure she looked halfway decent before calling and it doesn't even matter anymore because Chloe's face fills her screen and it isn't a still picture this time. Chloe is there and she is moving.

Oh Jesus she's _moving_!

" _Oh my gosh hi!"_ Beca thinks she can hear Chloe say through a beaming smile but isn't too sure because she is still trying to get a good grasp at the fact that she can actually see Chloe through her webcam and she is in fact the Chloe she has been talking to. " _It's you! I can't believe it's you!"_

Chloe's voice matches everything about her, whether it's the long red hair that's in messy, yet perfectly loose curls after a long day of classes, or the oversized sleep shirt she is currently wearing that has a giant cat on the front, wearing a pair of sparkly aviators. She is even more adorable than Beca could've ever imagined and it almost physically hurt to look at her for longer than a couple of seconds.

In the good way of course. 

" _Are you okay?"_ Chloe giggles and Beca doesn't think the early symptoms of a stroke is a good time to start laughing because she is positive she's going to die staring at Chloe for any longer.

"I…" Beca starts, trying to avoid the whole stuttering thing as best as she can. "I just… can't believe it's actually you."

" _I can say the same thing."_ Chloe smiles and Beca is sure the world has stopped revolving. She could get use to seeing that everyday. " _Don't get me wrong, I love your voice and it adds to this whole mystery person behind the mask thing but wow, it's so much sexier when there's a face to put with it."_

Beca knows she's blushing by how fast her face became hot and is thanking the dim lights in her room for keeping it unnoticeable for Chloe through the camera.

She also can't believe Chloe just called her sexy.

Like seriously, pinch her she may be dreaming.

" _What made you want to Skype? Not that I don't love it. I just was actually talking to Aubrey about this and how I wanted to see you before we met."_

Did Chloe and Aubrey have the exact same conversation that her and Stacie did because it sure sounds like they did. "That's exactly how I felt. I wanted to see the real you before I saw the real you in public so I can avoid passing out in public around a bunch of airport strangers," she explains. Also, Stacie might've scared her a bit about the whole, "might be a pervy dude talking to you online" and wanted to make sure that wasn't the case- even though Beca knew Chloe wouldn't lie to her.

Thank you Catfish for making the entire world paranoid.

" _I think I would be the one doing the fainting."_ Chloe's sitting up on her bed with her back pressed to the headboard and can see a glare of twinkling lights from above that, Beca assumes, are hanging around the entire room. It is so Chloe all the lights and part of her wanted to see how else the room is decorated. Guess she'll have to wait, which is another's thing she can't seem to grasp. " _What's up buttercup?"_

"Oh God gross." Beca rolls her eyes and covers her face with both hands. "Not with the nickname again. It's too soon."

Chloe throws her head back with a laugh and Beca peeks through her pointer and middle finger to saw the godlike structure of the redhead's jaw and…..goddamn! " _I just wanted to see your reaction to the nickname now that I can have a visual picture."_

"You're a weirdo, Beale." Beca shakes her head but has a grin on plastered on her face.

" _I have to introduce someone to you!"_ Chloe chirps as she remembers and Beca can see her looking next to her on the bed, out of frame of course and she wonders who on earth it could be. " _Tank…"_ Chloe positions her webcam at an angle until a horse of a dog is in full sight, laying down right next to her on the dark pink bedsheet and is lifting his head from his crossed paws underneath. _"This is Beca, Beca, this is Tank."_

"Oh my God!" Beca's eyes almost pop out of her head at the size difference in Chloe's hand compared to the monster of a dog's head. "That's not normal to be that size Chloe!"

" _He's my little cuddle bug."_

"Not little, Beale. Humongous is the proper word." Tank is cute though. He's white with black patches all over his face and body and has these bright blue eyes that remind Beca of Chloe's. "He has your eyes."

" _Awh really?"_ Chloe leans down to press her face against Tank's face, batting her eyelashes like one would if giving butterfly kisses.

"Totally. He looks like a dalmatian…just a super sized dalmatian."

" _Yeah but wayyyy cuter….and cheaper."_ Chloe laughs, patting the top of his head before repositioning the camera back to normal. " _What are you doing?"_

"Just laying down. I was working on a couple sample beats before calling you."

" _Oh cool! Getting anything good?"_

"Ehhh kinda. I've been listening to his past songs and trying to create something new, a different sound to his beats but it's tricky. He's still nagging me about doing vocals for at least one of his songs and I'm trying to avoid it and maybe get Selena on board."

" _Selena….Selena as in Selena Gomez?!"_ Beca nods her head, confirming what Chloe said. _"Oh my God...oh my GOD. Wait! I thought she was signed to Interscope Records?_ "

"Dropped her. So Roger contacted her as soon as he could and talked about helping her out I guess. I honestly think he's been planning a secret album on his free time just for this very moment when Selena got tossed. Dude is crazy about her."

" _Who wouldn't Beca!? She a real life angel I think….her voice live isn't that good but geez, the girl is hot. What on Earth was Bieber thinking?"_ Beca shrugs her shoulders in agreeance. Justin sure did make the wrong move there. " _Please don't forget about me when Selena talks to you."_

Beca laughs at the puppy dog frown Chloe sports and shakes her head. "Couldn't even if I tried, Beale."

" _Good."_

"Oh! Speaking of celebrities and singers and what not, I have to show you something."

" _What is it?"_

Beca reaches over to her phone connected on the charger and pulls up a video she made for Chloe yesterday afternoon. Walking into work, she was greeted by the one and only Ed Sheeran and ended up having a small, casual conversation with him during her lunch break. The guy was awesome first of all, so has a soul, and Beca could just get lost in his accent. Then she remembered that Chloe was obsessed with his music and asked him to give her a shout out or something so Beca could show her later.

The video starts with Ed slowly turning around in one of those spinning office chairs, kinda like the godfather does and continues to say, " _Sup Chloe. Tell Beca here to have some respect for us gingers because we totes rule the world."_ He says with all his Britishness dripping from his words and Beca ends it there. Clicking on Chloe's name, she sends the video and waits for Chloe to receive it.

"It should be sending now." Beca looks back into the webcam and Chloe knits her eyebrows together 's basically bouncing in her bed as Chloe's phone chimes off, knowing it's her video she just sent. She gives one last suspicious look to Beca before opening the message up on her phone.

" _HOLY SHIT!"_ Beca barks a laugh when she see's Chloe eyes shoot out of her skull like rocketships and can hear the video playing on her phone through the video chat. She also notes the added curse word and something so vulgar has never sounded so satisfying coming out from someone's mouth before. " _Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! It's Ed Sheeran!"_ The video from their chat shakes and becomes fuzzy when Chloe bounces her legs that hold her laptop.

"Yes it is. He was at Atlantic yesterday and I know how much of a groupie you are for his music." Beca is trying to not watch the shakiness of the webcam because it's making her dizzy.

" _He said my name! My real name and even said totes!"_

Beca laughs again at Chloe's starstruck behavior and how it looks like she is seconds away from crying. "I told him to say that. Then got lectured for teasing you about it and how you shorten every word like a California valley girl."

_"I do NOT Mitchell!"_

"Kinda do…."

" _Ugh, whatever. I can't believe you actually met him and got a video for me. Thank you Beca as I'm sure my life is now complete."_

"Anytime Beale-though your life isn't complete until you meet me," Beca jokes with a wink.

" _Very true. I know I say this a lot but I cannot wait until you get here."_ Chloe finally puts her phone down after watching the video again and has that deathly smile on her face and all Beca wants to do is hug her- which is fucking weird by itself because Beca is _no_ hugger and wants to get rid of this urge pronto dente

But she allows it because she believes Chloe is changing her for the better and it's only two days before she can put this urge to action and hug the girl like its her last day on Earth.

So _cannot_ wait till Friday.

* * *

_**Thursday September 15, 11:32 AM (1 day)** _

**B: Go into work to find out that I have the day off since I'm taking tomorrow off as well. Plus, working with Diplo is like….the easiest thing ever. Such a laid back dude.**

**B: Finished my online courses homework so I have NONE for the weekend**

**B: And now I get the day to pack and make sure not to forget anything.**

_C: Wow! A head of the game huh!? ;)_

_C: No homework you say? That means more time for activities :D_

_C: Speaking of that, what's the plan Stan for tomorrow?_

**B: Okay, my flight is at 6am and it's a four hour plane ride down there so your time it would be around 1. That's what it says on the ticket.**

_C: Alright cool. I'll just get there at 12:30 just incase you're early. Don't want you waiting :)_

**B: Sounds good to me**

**B: Then it's all up to you on what you wanna do**

**B: I just have dinner with my dad around 7 so I will need to leave then**

_C: Do you need a ride over there? Sandy Hills isn't that far away._

**B: No you don't need to.**

**B: I can just hit up Uber or something.**

_C: Absolutely NOT!_

**B: Haha why not? I've taken it before.**

**B: Very handy actually when you've had way too much to drink**

_C: You're not taking an uber under my hands Mitchell. Did you know they don't background check? That's like a scary movie waiting to happen!_

_C: I'm taking you whether you like it or not :)_

**B: Deal**

**B: No way am I going to turn down more quality time with you :-)**

_C: And I wouldn't let you even if you tried ;)_

_C: Okay what about Saturday?_

**B: Are you telling me you've already forgotten about our date? :-(**

_C: No I promise!_

**B: Sure Beale :'-(**

**B: See that tear drop?**

_C: Hush and stop being cute._

_C: No I didn't forget about our date! I just didn't know what the whole plan was. D:_

_C: I'm too excited to forget about that :) Not that I would want to anyways_

**B: Just teasin'**

**B: But I'm going to figure everything out and take my dad's car to come back down to Atlanta and pick you up. Don't worry about what we are doing, I want it to be a surprise :-)**

**B: Just be ready at 6**

_C: I love surprises! :D_

_C: Okay sounds like a plan!_

_C: I can’t believe I get to see you tomorrow. You better be ready for an awfully large bear hug :D_

**B: Gross, physical contact…**

**B: Not my fav**

_C: We are def going to change that :)_

* * *

_**Friday September 16, 3:30 AM (0 Days)** _

Getting up for her flight wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be. And that's because sleep was the last thing she did last night and in fact, just stared up at her ceiling until her alarm went off with Chloe Beale running through her mind.

Today was the day.

The day that Beca finally gets to see this girl that physically makes her heart cramp, flutter, and jump from her chest and she is mixed between the feeling of pure excitement and pure nauseousness. Of course to get to this day felt like it took longer than her entire life and it felt like time was moving in slow motion but right now, everything was moving fast. Way too fast for Beca's liking.

Getting ready was a shit show by itself because first, it was so early Beca's limbs didn't know how to function correctly and two, should she dress nice to impressed Chloe and be uncomfortable on the four hour flight? Or dress comfy in sweats and enjoy the flight, maybe get a nap in and look like a homeless DJ that's only prized possession is her earphones wrapped around her neck? These were all questions that she didn't know the answer to and she _needed_ to get to the airport to check in.

She settles on her favorite pair of dark blue skinny jeans that weren't tight enough to cut off circulation and be uncomfortable but tight enough to make her butt look good. High top all star white sneakers and a charcoal gray American hoodie that had blue sleeves with white stars because dammit, she felt patriotic.

Plus it matched her shoes and allowed her to be comfy while still being fashionable.

It was a win win.

Stacie being the good soul that she is drops Beca off at LAX when Beca is finished getting ready and has all her things packed. Bless her heart for waking up so early just for Beca. She drives them to the drop off place and parks the car on the curb to help Beca get out her duffle bag from the trunk. There wasn't a lot since Beca was only staying 3 days and leaving Monday morning but she still gave a hand.

"Call me when you get there." Stacie pulls Beca into a tight hug. "And when you get pass security and board the plane."

"Do you want me to text you when I got something to eat as well? And when I go to the bathroom?" Beca smirks when pulling away from Stacie's grasp and gets a smack to the stomach in return. She loves that Stacie is like a second mom when it comes to these things-even though Beca is older by a couple of months. Stacie gives her a stern look under her glasses and Beca rolls her eyes. "Yes I'll text you."

"Thank you." A smile breaks it's way to Stacie's mouth. "Be safe and have fun with Chloe. Remember to be cool. This is a moment you've been waiting for and now, you finally get to see her. That's awesome!" Beca offers a sheepish smile because once again, those unsettling nerves were back and back at full force, bubbling directly in the pool of her gut. "Tell your dad I said hi as well." And Beca nods faintly.

They say one more goodbye through a hug and Beca watches Stacie's car drive off down the terminal until she can no longer see it in the distance. She picks up her duffle bag and walks into the empty airport and over to one of those machines that prints out her boarding pass so she doesn't have to go through those grumpy people at the front desks.

She seriously might not have the patience not to deck them in the face with their attitude and going to jail on the day she is meeting Chloe is something she wants to avoid. So abort at all costs.

Turns out though, security was just as big of assholes as the people you'd normally get your ticket from and rushed Beca through the full body scanner thing and when she accidentally forgot to take out the few quarters in her pocket, they acted like she was sneaking a bomb onto the plane.

Yikes, wrong word. Not bomb, but something equally as dangerous.

After getting through that hell hole they call security- thank god it only took about ten minutes due to the lack of people getting checked-Beca walks around LAX until she finds the right gate number and when she reads on the LED board, _Los Angeles to Atlanta,_ she feels like she is going to pass out. She takes a few hundred deep breaths to calm her breathing pattern, just staring at the board like an owl and she knows the few people that are actually waiting around at the gate are looking at her like a crazy person.

But she doesn't care. Everything is becoming too real, too quick.

Restaurants around the food court begin to start opening and Beca knows if she tries to eat, she'll probably end up getting sick. And she doesn't know if it's because of nerves dealing with meeting Chloe for the first time, or how she gets horrible motion sickness, especially on a plane.

It's probably both to be honest.

So knowing that, she avoids any heavy food and picks up a coffee from Dunkin Donuts and an apple to settle her stomach until she lands in Georgia. If anything, the nuts they offer throughout the plane ride are Beca's favorite and wouldn't mind snacking on those if she gets hungry.

She takes off her smaller backpack so she could sit in one of the seats next to the gate and pulls out her headphones and phone to text Chloe until she boards-well hopefully if the girl is awake. It's nine there so Beca assumes that she would be since Chloe is a morning person and wakes up at the crack of dawn every day it seems like. She does though text Stacie first like she promised she would

_**Friday September 16, 5:06 AM** _

**B: Just made it through security (barely)**

_Stacie: What do you mean barely? Are you okay?_

**B: Haha yes I am. They were just assholes that's it.**

_S: Typical airport people._

_S: You'd think they'd pick a job that didn't involve them talking to people all day if they planned on being jerks the whole time._

**B: Right?**

**B: Well I'm just hanging out at the gate until we board.**

_S: When's boarding time?_

**B: 5:38**

_S: Okay cool, perfect timing then._

_S: Text me when you land kay? Did you get anything to eat? I know you can't fly on a full stomach but empty is bad too._

**B: Yeah I got some fruit and coffee.**

_S: Good! Have fun Becs! I miss you already :(_

_S: And I may or may not be sleeping in your bed right now because of it…_

**B: Haha you're ridiculous**

**B: I'll see you on Monday loser.**

**B: Make good choices ;-)**

_S: Oh where's the fun in that?! ;)_

_S: I'll try though!_

**B: Good, now go to bed. Thanks again for taking me Stace**

_S: Of course Beca_

She also drops a message to her dad letting him know pretty much the same with what was going on and how she was doing like he said to do and Beca was about to text Chloe next but it seemed that the redhead beat her to it when she felt her phone vibrate in her palm and seeing the message was from her.

_**Friday September 16, 5:21 AM** _

_C: High of 83 degrees today and not a cloud or wind chill in sight!_

_C: You picked a perfect day to come to Atlanta :)_

**B: 83 degrees? Is that counting humidity? :-(**

_C: Okay, with humidity it might be more like 90_

**B: 90!?**

**B: Oh my god I'm going to melt**

_C: Stop being so dramatic ;)_

_C: I'm actually thanking the hot weather because that means less clothes for you ;)_

**B: Who do you think I am Beale? :-O**

**B: I'm actually in a hoodie and jeans which probably wasn't the brightest choice when picking out an outfit..**

_C: Oh no! And you're coming at the hottest part of the day :(_

_C: That's going to be rough lol_

**B: Gee, thanks**

_C: Don't worry, I won't let you melt on my day with you :) I've been counting down the seconds until today and no way is the sun going to ruin that!_

**B: Me too Chlo :-)**

"All passengers boarding flight 180 to Atlanta may start lining up and wait until your designated seat letter is called through the intercom."

Beca hears this and puts her phone in her pocket before picking up her bag from the ground and walking over to the door where everyone else was waiting.

Once on the plane, Beca is ecstatic to see her that her seat is a by the window and is also sitting next to some elderly couple and nowhere near a baby. There is a God!

She throws her carry on up top by the other passenger's bags and squeezes through until she gets to her seat and plops down onto the leather.

C: :) When do you board?

**B: Just boarded.**

_C: :D Yayy!_

_C: Okay have a safe flight and text me when you land. I'll leave early just in case :)_

**B: Okay :-)**

She clicks out of Chloe and her's conversation and flips her phone to airplane mode to save some battery for the flight. Music is next as she queues up a song on her itunes playlists and hooks her headphones around her neck. She also makes sure she saved the playlist she made specifically for Chloe the night before on her laptop and when it's saved, she closes the device and sticks it back into her bag.

"Why are you headed down to Atlanta, sweety?" The old lady on Beca's right asks, causing Beca to tear her focus away from her phone and all the people walking around outside.

"Visiting my dad and seeing someone special." Beca smiles a little too wide and is actually surprised that she doesn't have her usual, " _I hate mornings and I hate talking to people even more"_ scowl on her face that she would usually sport this early in the day.

"Oh what a lucky boy! I hope you two have a wonderful time." The lady seems like a down right sweetheart and knows she doesn't mean no harm, don't get Beca wrong, but the classic assumption that Beca is meeting a boy just irks her.

It's the twenty sixteen _dammit_ , not the nineteen hundreds. You can't assume anything like that anymore.

She gives her best fake smile before lifting her headphones over her ears, silencing the sounds around her with Ed Sheeran's voice (how ironic,) and watches the flight attendants go over safety precautions. Does she pay attention? No, and if anything were to happen on this flight, she'd be screwed.

Hopefully grandma over here knows what to do in a situation like that.

Take off is pretty rough like always, and Beca has to close her eyes, turn on the overhead fan at full blast and avoid looking out the window before she yacks up her coffee and apple. She pulls out a piece of minty gum from her travel backpack when she remembers that Chloe told her it might help with the nausea and if not, will definitely help with the clogged ears. When the plane is high enough in the air and stopped its shaking, Beca turns her music back on and allows her body to relax after being so tensed. Her eyes start to get heavier the longer she keeps them open and going off of zero hours of sleep didn't help with her exhaustion.

Allowing her eyes to fully close as she watches out the window, seeing nothing but darkness due to it being so early still, she leans her head on the window with her earphones on playing soft music and falls into a much needed slumber.

* * *

The plane jerking violently wakes her up and turns out, they weren't crashing and instead, they were landing. Of course she had to find out the hard way as she sprung from her position where she was laying her head with wide eyes and panicked breathing as she gripped the armrest so tight she is sure she indented the mental, only to be embarrassingly calmed down by the old lady next to her that they were just landing and nothing bad was happening to the plane.

Beca cooley laughs it off, wiping away the drool on her cheek and states that she knew this and was just messing around-even though on the inside of her body she could still feel her heartbeat pounding in her throat and her heart rate at an alltime high. Jesus, how embarrassing is that?

Outside the window, all she sees is a bunch of other planes departing and arriving and trees surround the highway across the airport and it's nothing too special. It kind of sucks that she slept through the entire flight because she didn't get a chance to look at the view of Atlanta from above like she wanted to- or the nuts. The only plus side to falling asleep was the flight time flew by- like one minute she was boarding the plane then the next, she was having a near panic attack over a false plane crash.

As they wait seated on the plane until he captain signals them they could get up, Beca figures it's going to take quite some time after seeing another plane in front of them unloading as it seems to be behind schedule. She then pulls out her phone and turns her data back on to see the time change and to text Stacie and Chloe that she landed in Georgia.

She decided to text Stacie first.

_**Friday September 16, 12:53 PM** _

**B: Hey I landed, don't know if you're awake or not but yeah. Made it here safe.**

Then she clicks out of that convo and goes straight over to Chloe's when she doesn't get an automatic reply.

**B: Just landed, still waiting to get off though. Plane running late in front of us.**

_C: I'm here already at passenger pick up, call me when you're close and I'll try to find you :)_

Beca's breathing actually hitches at this message Chloe just sent. She's is _here_ and she is _waiting_ for Beca at the airport. How on earth is she going to see the redhead without making a fool out of herself and is now a proper time to freak the fuck out?!

Sometime during the flight, Beca flipped up her hoodie over her head and the hair underneath was a mussed rats nest not to be messed with. There was also an indention of the window on the side of her face and her eyes were puffy and full of so much fatigue that it should be a crime to not be sleeping right now- definitely not how Beca wanted to see Chloe for the first time. She wants to see the girl not scare her away.

As soon as she gets off the plane, she heads straight to the nearest bathroom to try to fix her appearance and those god awful raccoon eyes she has going on right now. She uses a spare cuetip to wipe the extra black eyeliner around her eyes and plays with her hair for a bit until the knots are out and she looks presentable again. Yay for straightening her hair for once.

Exiting the bathroom, she then gets punched in the gut with those nerves again that Chloe is here, waiting for her and at any second now, she is going to end up running into her.

Her heart is racing and she feels like it's going to burst straight through her chest the closer she gets to passenger pickup as she follows the signs. She kinda wished she had a checked bag because if she did, she could stall and go to baggage claim to pick it up. Everyone knows how long baggage claim takes and that would be much needed time alone to get Beca's act together before meeting Chloe; a girl who she has been talking to online for almost a month now and can't even lie and say she doesn't have the world's biggest crush on. If she was still in middle school, she's sure she would have a notebook covered in Chloe's name in a bunch of different cursive and what not.

That's an excuse to maybe be freaking out a bit.

The escalators to the bottom level comes almost immediately and it feels like she is walking in slow motion, all sounds are muffled and is positive her stomach is about to fall straight out of her butt. The whole way down Beca closes her eyes to get a grip and straighten out her breathing to a normal pattern before she hyperventilates and once she finally does this, she is down on ground level, just under a large sign that reads _Pick Up_ and any form of breathing gets tossed right out the window and her brain is going completely haywire.

The airport is busy after the multiple flights landing and Beca is surrounded by people left and right, some finding friends, someone finding their families and some kissing and being tossed around by their significant others. And if it were any other time, Beca would think the whole affectionate public display the couples were doing would be nauseating. But now, she doesn't give two damns because Chloe is somewhere around here and knowing that makes her forget anything else at the moment.

Her phone is in her hand ready to call Chloe because it is more busy than she thought it would be and can't for the life of her see pass all the other people walking around. Dialing Chloe's number, she lifts the device up to her ear and hears it ring.

" _Hey where are you?"_

Beca scans around, looking for something large and helpful to describe her current location. "Well besides the army of people I'm being swarmed with, I'm by the escalators and a group of what looks like fake trees," Chloe snickers

" _Hmmm you must be on the other side."_

Chloe says under all the extra voices and at least Beca knows they're in the same place. Beca is a hundred percent certain that she looks uncomfortable and awkward as she rotates her body back and forth, hoping to land her eyes on a familiar redhead. People probably think she is a lost child no thanks to her height.

" _Okay I'm by the escalators and still don't see you. Are you sure…...oh my God..."_

Chloe's voice gets choked up and Beca hears a gasp through the phone, taking it that Chloe can see her but she can't see Chloe. Scanning the area again, it was a lot easier now that people are starting to flood out, she looks in all directions until her eyes are glued to a flaming redhead who is a good distance away from her with a phone in her hand, lifted up to one of her ears.

It's Chloe after concluding it isn't a trick hallucination her mind is playing-like a mirage in the desert after begin stranded in the heat for endless hours.

Beca could spot that red hair if her life depended on it and as she caught those pale blue eyes that she fell in love with from the distance between them on the other side of the airport, she didn't know if she should run or faint. Hanging up on the phone because clearly, they found each other, she settles on a shy wave and watches Chloe's eyes light up over the set of hands covering her mouth in awe.

Beca bravely takes the steps up to the redhead as it looks like Chloe is paralyzed in her brown summer wedges on the airport's tile and Beca is baffled that her legs are actually working right now. As she gets closer, Beca takes the time to study every inch of skin on Chloe's frame and thinks the girl is absolutely _jaw dropping._ And even that doesn't sum up how beautiful she is.

It is so much different than their skype conversation a few nights back, the phone conversations, even the text messages. Beca now is able to make out every inch of Chloe's frame that is cut out by the square box on the video chat and gets hypnotized by Chloe's toned, golden legs, just under a pair of white jean shorts and a simple black tank top as her red hair flows delicately over her bare shoulders.

Beca wants to stay calm and collected when she gets closer to Chloe, who is still frozen in place with both hands over her mouth, keep her cool, but the overwhelming desire to run the rest of the distance and tackle Chloe into a hug takes over anything else Beca thought about doing.

And soon enough, her duffle bag being held in her hand is thrown onto the ground in the middle of the airport and she is sprinting over to Chloe until their bodies crash into each other with more force than intended but it doesn't matter because Chloe is _here_ , in her arms, after dreaming of this moment since they first met as she wraps her arms around the redhead's neck and doesn't give a shit about anything else.

It's not long after Chloe's hands slide around the lower part of Beca's back, electrifying Beca's insides by the simple touch, she starts to feels shuddering through the redhead's chest and knows Chloe is crying. Confirmation comes later when Beca feels perspiration spreading on the crook of her neck's skin and as soon as she feels this, she feels her own tears start to stream down her cheeks as she chokes back the sob she has kept in for so long and nuzzles her face deeper into Chloe's neck, savoring the sweet scent of Chloe's perfume that Beca could smell for the rest of her life.

Beca is sure she could stay like this for days, just hugging onto Chloe so incredibly tight, scared that if she lets go Chloe might float away and never come back. She's waited for this moment for what seems like eternity and now, to finally feel Chloe's physical form, her heartbeat throbbing against Beca's chest,

She _**never**_ wants to let go.


	9. New State

_**Friday September 16, 1:30 PM** _

Beca doesn't know how long Chloe and she have been standing here, hugging onto each other like a bunch of koalas clinging onto a tree in the wild. All she knows is Chloe is warm, and her body is toned, and Beca's can't for the life of her find enough strength to let go.

Normally, Beca would be the last in line for any type of physical contact, loving her personal space and keeping her bubble at a capacity of one and only one. It didn't matter what type of contact it was: a handshake, a hug, even someone standing too close as she waits in line. The closeness of someone else's presence irks her skin like no other, and _never_ would she be the one to initiate any sort of contact with somebody, stranger or not.

So she thought.

But you know, first time's the charm, and when she saw Chloe standing in the distance, thinking that she must be hallucinating, or that the gorgeous redhead had to be a ghost, Beca needed to make sure Chloe was real. And when she let her body take over her ego and the empty space within her arms was now filled with an actual human person, she knew then and there Chloe was definitely not a ghost.

It isn't shocking that the other people in the airport are rubbernecking their emotional union, stopping traffic and even conversations just to see what is going on with all the crying and the scene they are causing.

Beca tries her best to clear her throat but the tears make it almost impossible to do anything without choking on more tears. Beca, using all the strength she has in her tiny little frame, detaches herself from Chloe but keeps her arms around the redhead's neck. She can't let the girl slip away from her like a kite; not now.

Chloe's eyes are bloodshot and puffy, but the tears make the blues sparkle and Beca's sure she could swim in them. Tears are still streaming down Beca's cheeks, but the sobs had subsided and Chloe's emotions are more controlled.

Beca thinks two things: 1) How is it humanly possible for Chloe to look this beautiful while crying when Beca usually looks like the definition of an ugly crier. Like full on Kim Kardashian face when she cries. 2) If she is crying just as hard as Chloe was, she probably looks like a raccoon thanks to the non-waterproof eye makeup she was wearing.

God, she was regretting everything right now, especially not taking Stacie's advice about skipping the makeup.

"Wow, I'm a mess." Before Beca could wipe her eyes to get rid of whatever disaster is happening, Chloe does the honors by lifting a hand from Beca's waist and catches each rolling tear with her thumb before they fall. She was right about Number 2. Chloe's finger when she lifts it away from Beca's cheek is covered in dark eye makeup. Now, she probably looks like a panda and doesn't know if crying like a baby or the mess it made her is more embarrassing. Probably both.

 _Get it together, Mitchell, oh my god._ This wasn't going as she planned. She promised herself to say calm when she saw Chloe, to hide her nerves because she didn't want this interaction to be awkward if they were both nervous to meet- which Chloe said multiple times before actually meeting through past conversations.

"Hi," Chloe says sweetly under her groggy, post-crying voice and each word is so sweet that they are seconds away from giving Beca diabetes. Copying Chloe because she beat her to it, she moves her hands to frame Chloe's face and swipe the wetness from her flushed cheeks.

"Hi to you, too," Beca responds smoothly, feeling a little more confident with her words, now that her crying has calmed down. She smiles. "I can't believe you're….you're actually standing in front of me right now."

"I could say the same thing." Chloe's bottom lip is trembling and for anybody else who's human, that's a clear warning sign that someone is about to cry again, and Beca doesn't really need Chloe to cry again - mostly because she'll end up doing the same thing. It also makes her want to press her lips against Chloe's to stop the trembles with a hungry kiss-which is a red flag because hello, talk about lack of patience. Beca cannot break that easily. Even if Chloe is just so damn kissable and has waited for a chance to kiss her since the first time she's laid eyes on her face.

She wants it to be _perfect_.

"And I have to say, you are tinier in person," Chloe teases with a watery smile and pokes Beca in the gut, making her flinch.

Blocking Chloe's finger from poking her again, "Oh shut up, Beale! You're not that much taller than me." Beca measures the height difference between them and just like she said, Chloe wasn't _that_ much taller. Chloe though makes a few more comments about Beca's height, somewhere along the lines of being an adorable DJ with a cute baby face. She kind of just smiles at Chloe when she talks, adoring the way Chloe's eyes light up when she laughs and at any moment she feels like she could cry again. Trying to toss the urge to kiss Chloe was still present, itching Beca like no other.

It is still unbelievable that she is here, right now, with Chloe.

Beca notices a woman stopping in her tracks to offer a watery smile as it seemed that her she and Chloe's interaction touched her heart. Beca instantly feels her heart grow in size but focuses her attention back on Chloe before suggesting that they should hit the road. Also she doesn't remember for sure where she dropped her duffle bag before tackling Chloe in a bear hug and there could be a slight chance that one of these Georgia weirdos totally took off with it - which would not be good as her laptop was in it.

"Okay!" Chloe chirps and pulls her hands away from Beca as she gives a firm clap. "That's enough crying for one day. How about we get a start on the exciting activities I have planned for you today?" Beca isn't used to this up-close, bubbly attitude that Chloe's personality is filled with, and how it's so much different than it was through her phone or computer screen but she thinks it's weirdly adorable and just _fits_ her.

Plus, she's relieved that they were finally leaving the airport and getting a jump start on doing some stuff that Chloe seems pretty stoked about sounds like a lot of fun. Seeing Chloe excited about the little things was always one of Beca's favorite personality traits: how she resembled a child when first walking into a candy store, or opening up presents on Christmas morning.

It is cute. Chloe is cute.

Beca's duffle bag isn't too far away from where they were and she's thanking her lucky stars that nothing in her bag was stolen. Chloe leads them, maneuvering through crowds of people, smiling at every damn stranger she locks eyes with regardless if they are grumpy, not paying attention, or the few guys' stare that seems to linger a little too long for Beca's liking. Chloe is an attractive girl so this problem is unavoidable but to Beca, she should be the only one able to admire Chloe's physical appearance. Nobody else.

It didn't matter if Chloe knew them or not as she felt it was necessary to spread her friendly spirit-even if she didn't get it back in return, and Beca doesn't know how it's humanly possible to be this cordial. But leave it to Chloe Beale to make it possible.

She follows closely, scared of possibly getting split up like they were in a rock festival's sea of strangers and she has this urge to reach out and grab Chloe's hand to make sure that doesn't happen. Soon enough though, they make it outside where there are far fewer people and the necessity to grab her passes.

But deep down she still wants to.

She also doesn't feel like it is necessary to wear a hoodie anymore as she gets slapped in the face, up, down, and side to side with Georgia's brutal heat. A Beca popsicle puddle under the scorching heat is what she is destined to be anytime soon.

Clothes in general she feels like she shouldn't have on as she will end up sweating through every single piece and melt until death. The funny thing was that they were still under the shady parts of the airport and still, it already felt like it was a million degrees outside. She can't even imagine how hot it is going to be when they finally hit the sunny spots on the other side of this crosswalk to wait for the shuttle to the parking lot

Jesus, this was awful and no one should ever live like this.

"Oh Beca, you came at such a beautiful time of the year! The weather is _so_ nice and not a cloud in sight! The 88 percent humidity totes adds to the weather's majesticness." Beca mocks in a girly tone what Chloe said before when that little white guy on the light flashes to let them cross

"I do _not_ talk like that!" Chloe huffs a pout as she crosses her arms. "And it _is_ nice today." She laughs for a bit before smiling, something that looks so much better in person, Beca thinks, and lucky for them (mostly Beca) they don't have to wait in the sun for too long until the shuttle arrives. "Maybe it's not that perfect, California weather type of nice but for us Georgia natives, this is a tank top, shorts type of day."

Chloe gestures down her outfit and that's literally the only thing positive about this tit sweating sauna for weather. All day, Beca gets to look at her golden skin, her toned legs,as well as part of her back and she feels guilty and kind of dirty about it, especially so soon after meeting but she gets and takes the chance to scope the visible cleavage Chloe's tank top and bra is currently showing.

Blaming the hot weather though helps Beca feel less like the men in the airport and more considerate of Chloe's well-being. Wearing a loose, v-neck tank top and short shorts prevents heat stroke-which is life threatening and something she doesn't want Chloe to go through.

Duh.

Beca puts her bag on the shuttle's luggage rack before taking a seat next to Chloe in the back of the bus. "In California, especially LA, the temperature stays at a solid 70 to 80 degrees. I haven't experienced this much heat since I lived in Oregon and it was during the summertime."

"And you'd think that you'd come more prepared after experiencing that." Chloe smirks, batting her eyelashes. "I hope you brought appropriate clothes because the weather this weekend is only going to get hotter, buttercup."

Beca groans at the nickname, hiding the fluttering of the army of butterflies in her stomach, not wanting Chloe to know that she secretly loves it when she calls her that. "Ew, the name sounds even worse in person." And Beca doesn't have a chance to react, let alone take a steady breath before a hand touches the inner part of her thigh and she sees that it's Chloe's.

Her body freezes under the touch, not sure really what to do, and she can feel her brain go completely haywire at a simple touch like that. Chloe's giggles that for the most part take Beca's attention off the caressing thumb she feels through her pants, and Chloe doesn't seem to notice the stiffness Beca currently feels in every limb of her body and tells Beca that she loves the reaction she gets from her every time she uses that grossly adorable nickname.

The hand is gone before Beca can even get used to it and she finds herself already missing the warm contact from Chloe's palm as the air conditioning from the bus's vents blow chilled wind directly where Chloe's hand once was. Beca hates physical contact from other people-like she said before but, part of her wants to yank the hand back to the previous position on her leg and she has no idea why all of a sudden.

"So I may or may not have said this before, probably not since I was too busy crying..." Chloe starts with a laugh, twisting her body so she can actually _look_ at Beca. Speaking of crying, Chloe's eyes are less red than before and forget anything Beca said about Chloe's eyes being the bluest she has ever seen. That's a lie because _now_ , as the sun shines through the smudgy window next to them,Chloe's eyes are the _bluest_ she has ever seen. "But you are beautiful," Chloe finishes.

Any other time, Beca would respond with something sarcastic at the cheesy compliments she receives from random guys who are trying to pick her up at the school or house parties Stacie forces her to attend. But when Chloe says it - and it's embarrassing to even admit - she blushes and blushes _hard_. Like full on, her face feels hotter than this ridiculous Georgia heat and the way Chloe's eyes seem so sincere when she says it doesn't help.

Beca manages to scoff and has it in her to roll her eyes, acting like what Chloe said wasn't affecting her - though inside, her body is being attacked by the swarming army of butterflies trapped in her stomach. "Have you looked in the mirror? You're beautiful - no….God, you're _gorgeous,_ " she compliments and this time, Chloe's the one doing the blushing and boy does she look cute doing so. She'd even get it etched in stone if it meant that Chloe would continue to blush. "I'm seconds away from sweating my balls off and looking like dead road kill while you look like someone who just came from a photoshoot, Beale. There ain't nothing beautiful about me."

Chloe erupts with a laugh that's contagious and Beca finds herself mirroring the action, not that she minds because when Chloe leans her head back, Beca can see the the underside definition of her jaw and the twitching of her neck muscles as her throat bobs up and down and - _Jesus,_ is this woman even human? "I'm sure even with all of that, you'd be something I'd glance at twice."

Beca shakes her head at Chloe's amount of cheesiness, still continuing to laugh quietly. "Whatever you say, Beale." But then Chloe's hand is back on her thigh, and just when Beca thinks the redhead is about to move it again, thinking it maybe slipped, or Chloe was just repositioning herself better on these uncomfortable, plastic seats, her hand lingers on Beca's leg.

It almost feels better than the first time. Actually, it _does_ feel better than the first time, even though Beca's skin is burning under Chloe's palm. She can't even imagine how Chloe's hand would feel if she was wearing, for example, shorts, and there was skin to skin contact. She's almost certain she'd combust. Hell, she's about to explode right now because it has already been a minute and it doesn't look like Chloe's hand is making any effort in moving any time soon as Chloe continues to talk to Beca about her drive to the airport and points out little things through the window of the shuttle, letting her thumb caress Beca's thigh while she talks her heart out.

And Beca eventually adjusts to the tingling sensation under Chloe's touch, her body starting relax as she releases a few shaky breaths and lets her arm fall behind Chloe's back to rest along the seat while Chloe scoots in closer to Beca. She just listens to Chloe intently, watching her smile at certain billboards they see along the highway and thinks that after all this time of talking through the Internet and just wishing she could spend _one day_ with this girl. That's all she wanted.

But now that it _finally_ came true, Beca wishes that this moment, being here, in Georgia with Chloe, could last forever.

She has waited too long for this moment to happen and now, she never wants it to end.

* * *

Beca nearly drops her duffle bag as Chloe points in the direction of where her car is - wait, correction, _truck_ is. There's a cute little Volkswagen Bug next to the lifted, blue Tacoma truck that seems more realistic for Chloe to drive, but she surprised Beca like she tends to do, when she pulls out the keys and the lights on the truck flash as she unlocks it.

"First the gigantic dog, now the badass truck?" Beca admires the truck as Chloe grabs her bag off her shoulder, tossing it in the truck's bed. Beca also wonders how the hell she is going to get up and inside the truck without making a fool of herself. There wasn't even a running board to step on at the bottom like most trucks have so this process could be interesting. "You never cease to surprise me Beale."

Thank goodness there are handlebars low enough for Beca to grab onto and help pull herself inside. Once she makes it in after only minor struggling and is breathing a lot heavier than she would like, Chloe is already waiting, smirking at her and putting the keys in the ignition as she flips her aviators down over her eyes.

"You like?"

"Do I like?" Beca scoffs, seeing that the interior is just as clean as the outside. Chloe is like a clone of Stacie and how she organizes her stuff, whether it's the phone charger under the armrest or the thousands of sunglasses lined up perfectly on the dash, the cleanness of Chloe's truck might be considered borderline OCD. "I love it!"

"Thanks." Chloe smiles and drives out of the parking lot. "My dad was a truck junky and had a new one like every month. It just made me want to be just like him."

Chloe's phone rings and she tells Beca it's Aubrey probably asking what the plan is for lunch so she takes the call. While Chloe is talking to her friend, Beca remembers that she has a cell phone, too, and probably has messages up the ass from her dad and, she assumes, Stacie. Being right, her dad sent a text asking if she made it safely, and Stacie - even though Beca messaged her when she got off the plane - is blowing up her inbox with messages asking her if she's alive or not.

_**Friday September 16, 1:43 PM** _

_Stacie: Glad you made it okay!_

_S: Tell me when you find Chloe! Remember, be calm and your adorable awkward self ;)_

_**Friday September 16, 2:07 PM** _

_S: So I haven't received a phone call or any text messages telling me that Little Miss Chloe was a dude or a no show sooooo that leaves two options._

_S: You're too busy sucking face, possibly already boning each other in the airport's bathroom OR she kidnapped you, took away all your forms of communication and is waiting to go Texas chainsaw massacre on your ass while driving you out to the middle of nowhere..._

_S: Oh no…..now I'm worried :(_

_**Friday September 16, 2:20 PM** _

_S: Beca Mitchell if you're alive right now you better text me back before I send out a search party for your tiny ass!_

_**Friday September 16, 2:23 PM** _

**B: Oh my god Stacie chill haha**

**B: I'm with Chloe now. We just got to her truck and are driving.**

**B: Sorry I didn't text you sooner. Place was kind of hectic**

_S: OH THANK GOD YOU'RE NOT IN THE BACK OF SOME AX MURDERER'S TRUNK_

**B: Shut up dork**

**B: You watch way too many scary movies.**

_S: I'm sorry I worry :( Especially when I can't be there with you._

_S: Anyways, besides the point._

_S: How is she?!_

**B: God, where do I even start?**

_S: That good huh?_

_***Incoming Facetime call From Stacie Conrad*** _

Beca is in the middle of her paragraph-long text message to Stacie describing how amazing Chloe is when not even a minute later, she sees that Stacie is calling her for a facetime. She looks over to Chloe and sees she is still on the phone with Aubrey, talking about lunch plans and whatnot, so Beca decides to answer.

"Hey loser." Beca smiles when she sees Stacie's face light up on her screen. "Couldn't wait a second?"

" _Pftt, no way! I need to see this dime up close and personal!"_

Chloe glances over to see who she is talking to. Beca wishes she had her headphones in, not knowing what crude comments are bound to come out of Stacie's mouth when she flashes the camera over towards Chloe.

Chloe mouths a, "Who's that?" and Beca tells her it's Stacie who is just checking in. " _Is that her? Oh my god that's her!"_ Stacie gasps loudly and there's no doubt Chloe heard that from the driver's side of the truck.

"Yes, Stacie, but she's on the phone with Aubrey right now."

" _Let me say hi!"_

"I just told you she's on the phone!" Beca laughs at Stacie's eagerness. "You're going to have to wait."

Chloe says her goodbyes to Aubrey before hanging up and knits her eyebrows at Beca when she hears Stacie's excitement through Beca's phone _."I heard her say goodbye Beca. Now show me this insanely sexy redhead you've been talking about for so long!"_

"Oh my God…" Beca feels her face getting hot again, knowing Chloe heard Stacie loud and clear this time as she is sporting an awfully sexy smirk Beca's way. Obviously, what she and Stacie talk about during their "girl talks" doesn't hold the sacred meaning like Beca thought they did.

Despite the embarrassment she feels streaming through her veins like lava, she tilts her phone so that Chloe is fully in the camera and is able to see Stacie on the screen. "Stacie, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is Stacie. My shithead best friend." Beca informally introduces the pair as Chloe waves at Beca's phone and she can hear Stacie's ear-splitting squeals ring through the speakers, vibrating the edges of Beca's phone.

" _Holy shit, you're hot!"_ Everything Stacie is saying is true, but right now, Beca is beginning to regret answering Stacie's call with the big mouth the girl has and also, the lack of a fucking filter. Stacie has seen Chloe's pictures on Instagram, seen her face multiple times throughout the world of social media so Chloe's physical appearance shouldn't be this surprising to Stacie anyways - even if Chloe's genes should be illegal. " _I've heard so much about you!"_

"All good things I hope." Chloe's focus returns to the road. "I've heard a lot about you, too."

" _Oh is that so? Beca, do you have a soft spot for little ol' me?"_ Stacie uses her nauseating baby voice that makes Beca want to shove a sock in her mouth to keep her from doing it again.

"You wish, dork." Beca faces the camera back to her and sees that Stacie is outside for some reason, and can barely see the girl's face because of the glare from the sun's light. "Why aren't you home? Are you still at school?"

" _Uhhh, yeah since I have class at noon. Just like always, Becs."_ Stacie smirks, taking a drink of her daily Starbucks frappuccino which is literally the most complicated order Beca has ever heard. She knows this because one time she offered to get Stacie a drink while she was out and reading back her order to the barista felt like giving a speech.

Never again.

"Oh, shit." Beca takes a look at Chloe's clock in her truck and remembers the time difference between Los Angeles and Georgia. "I forgot about the time difference. It's 2:00 here so I thought you'd be out of class and at home, not sitting on the quad." The day already feels like it's almost over ever since she made it to Atlanta with the time jump and now she feels sort of bad for keeping Chloe up so late when back in California it was early for Beca.

" _Nope, got Physics at noon then my fabulous and very exciting Organic Chem lab right after that."_ Stacie spits sarcastically, something she learned from Beca, making her feel like a proud mom.

"You're the one who took those awful classes because you want, and I quote, 'an easy Spring.' I don't feel sorry for you." Beca snickers, rolling her eyes and gets the middle finger up as a response.

"Did you say O-Chem, Stacie?" Chloe asks, interested.

" _Sure did. Why, you good at it? I could use some help with some stuff. For the most it's easy but a few things are kicking my ass."_

"Oh God no! General Chemistry was hard for me." Chloe giggles and Beca seconds that. Screw anything science-wise. It's honestly almost as bad as math. _Almost_. "But Aubrey, my roommate, is a genius when it comes to anything science and I know she took Organic." Chloe winks at Beca and it goes unnoticed by Stacie, and now Beca understands what is going on. Operation, hook up Aubrey and Stacie is in full motion. "We could give you her number and she could help you out if you want."

" _Yeah no, that'd be pretty cool actually. Just have Beca text me her number and I'll hit blondie up."_

Now, Stacie and Aubrey aren't strangers. They've become friends on Facebook, followed each other on Twitter and Instagram once they were forced to do so by Chloe and Beca, so the first step is done! The next is obviously texting each other; Chloe and Beca can both be witnesses to this as their whole friendship was formed this way.

Stacie tells Beca she needs to get to class, but not before lecturing her about texting her updates on her trip and to send lots of of her and Chloe throughout the weekend's adventure, especially their date tomorrow night, and Beca promises.

" _It was nice meeting you Chloe! As for you, Beca, please control your hormones around the pretty lady. Don't want to scare her away now do we?"_

Beca mutters a "shut up" and hangs up quickly, muting Stacie's laughs so Chloe's laugh is the only one she can hear.

"She seems nice!" Chloe says as Beca forwards Aubrey's contact card to Stacie before she forgets, because let's face it: nothing else is going to matter this weekend except Chloe.

And dammit, she's going to take advantage of it.

"Yeah-" Beca breathes. "-definitely….something else."

"Hopefully I can meet her in person sometime."

Beca has no idea why this makes her smile like a schoolgirl but it does. Maybe it's because Chloe's already thinking about the future together - not marriage or anything crazy like that - but something simple, such as meeting Beca's best friend, and it takes a lot of imaginary weight off her shoulders.

The rest of the drive Chloe talks a lot about school, and classes, and how she's trying to get her Master's Degree ASAP so she can get settled with a steady, well-paying job. She has her future planned out on a calendar and there's Beca, barely able to decide what she wants for dinner any given day.

She finds herself staring at Chloe a lot during the drive. Watching how she talks with her hands when she's passionate about whatever it is, just exactly how Beca could picture her doing when they talked in the phone - which is only a little bit terrifying since she is operating a moving vehicle, but Beca thinks it's too darn cute. She also does this cute/awkwardly sexy thing with her bottom lip and jaw when Beca asks her certain questions she has to take the time to think about it as she ponders for a few seconds.

Mostly Chloe holds up the conversation and Beca finds herself leaning against the armrest, one hand holding up her chin and is listening carefully to every last word Chloe has to say.

Stacie loved to talk, too. And she tolerated it, as her best friend.

With anyone else, Beca didn't understand why they felt the need to chat off Beca's ear with stuff she honestly just doesn't care about, and they don't get the hint when she lifts her headphones up over her ears, hoping they'd get the message to leave her the hell alone.

Chloe, on the other hand, with her endless stories is intoxicating and she slips into this whirlwind of a trance, lulled by Chloe's voice. There are times when Beca has to blink herself out of it just in case Chloe asks her a question or looks for a response; she doesn't want to look like a zombie when she doesn't reply.

Chloe apologizes that she turned her radio off but says she'd rather talk instead of listen to music right now. Beca can't help but agree because even though music holds a large piece of her heart, so does Chloe Beale's voice and the chance to listen to her talk whenever she can is something Beca would take in a heartbeat.

"Speaking of music..." Remembering a little something she made for Chloe, Beca leans down to reach in her backpack until her hand lands on the flash drive placed in the smallest pocket. "I uh, made you like...something or whatever." She nervously laughs. She feels the need to clarify what she made, but Chloe's face is already lit up like the Fourth of July.

"Are those your mixes?" Chloe's jaw drops and then it curves into a face splitting grin that only increases the heat in Beca's face.

"Yeah...they are." She hands it to Chloe and watches her read the label when she stops at a red light. Chloe brushes her thumb across the text:, "4 Chloe." She laughs at Beca's shorthand and Beca tells her she tried to spell it out but the label wasn't big enough to fit on there without it being microscopic and she teases Chloe for after remembering a brief mention of glasses and how Chloe is as blind as a bat.

Chloe's grinning and it's so bright that, Beca can't stare at it for too long without the chances of going blind herself. "Thank you, Beca. Nobody has ever given me something so thoughtful."

Playing it cool, Beca shrugs and tells Chloe that it's not much and wanted to mix a few - more like a lot - of Chloe's favorite songs so she has some more music to listen to when she is getting all hot and sweaty during her daily morning cardio. She quickly clarifies that she means working out, not sex, obviously, because how she said that could've been misinterpreted, and when Chloe tosses her a smirk under raised eyebrows she knows that that interpretation definitely crossed Chloe's mind..

"I'm just teasing, Becs."

There's that sweet sound when Chloe starts to giggle again at Beca's flustered state and plugs in her phone to play light music in the background. The first song that comes on is a mashup Beca did not to long ago with Calvin Harris's "Summer" and Zedd's "Clarity," and Chloe admits to this being one of her favorite mashups Beca has done. She also says that she gave up on ordering her favorites when it came to Beca's music because all of them sounded too amazing to just pick one.

"I have all your songs on my phone." She gloats proudly, handing Beca the device and true enough, every single mashup Beca has done since she first started uploading them were in a designated playlist marked "Beca's Mixes," next to several of those heart eyes emojis. "Please don't think it's creepy."

Truth is, Beca thinks it's everything _but_ creepy. It's heartwarming to see that Chloe enjoys her music this much, and it's almost too much for Beca's heart to handle. Diplo, Skrillex, and Roger of course all enjoyed her music as well but seeing that on Chloe's phone was every song Beca made - bad or not - on a special playlist made her feel like she just impressed the President or something.

Beca can't shake the smile off her face as Chloe feels constant the need to compliment Beca's music all over again, as if she hasn't heard them already, and she feels at any moment her heart is going to give out with the current speed it's fluttering at. To calm herself down, Beca watches Chloe again, and sees that she rolled her window down a bit to let some air in. Her hair is blowing delicately over her shoulders while her head bobs to in sync with the music and if Beca hadn't known better, she'd think that Chloe was a real life angel. She has her left hand on the top of the steering wheel and her other resting on the armrest, fingers tapping to the beat. Beca watches her thumb bounce up and down to the bass notes of Calvin Harris and can't for the life of her take her eyes off of Chloe's hand.

She believes that maybe she is going absolutely bonkers with the time she has spent already with Chloe because she wants to things she has never wanted to do before. For example, she wants to hold her hand as she continues to drive, stopping the bouncing of her thumb because Beca thinks the longer she stares at its movements the faster she feels the anxiety start to build up - but mostly because she just has this sudden urge to link their fingers together and hold hands the for the rest of the drive.

But her palms are sweaty, _way_ too sweaty, and Beca isn't one to initiate hand holding because it's out of her element. Hell, she didn't even like the whole physical contact bullshit until she met Chloe and then all of a sudden she's struck with this?

What the Hell is going on with her?

She tries a total of three times to hold Chloe's hand. The first time, she reaches and she thinks she is going to make it but Chloe glances over and Beca covers up her movement by turning up the volume and dropping her hand back in her second time Beca goes in, she goes in fast - but when her fingers touch Chloe's skin, there's like a jolt of electricity that shocks her and she jerks it back and pretends she just wanted to look at Chloe's manicured nails.

Haha, what bullshit that was.

The third and final attempt is when Beca talks some sense into herself before going in for the kill. _Get yourself together Mitchell! Chloe initiated the hand on the thigh during the shuttle ride so now is your chance to make a move. Grow some lady balls, don't be such a little bitch and hold this gorgeous girl's hand!_

Her pep talk jump started her gears as she found her hand slowly migrating closer to Chloe's, and she didn't even know she was holding her breath until Chloe's fingers were tangled with hers and the warmth against her palm causes her to release a heavy breath, and she's relaxing into the touch.

Chloe doesn't even seem to flinch by Beca's bold move, like Beca was expecting the girl to do. Maybe jerk her hand away with a disgusted scowl at how clammy Beca's hands were. But instead, she looks relieved and comfortable with all of it - which eases Beca's nerves a little. Chloe's hand isn't too cold, isn't too warm and is just barely bigger than Beca's. The ladybug tattoo on Chloe's wrist is touching close to Beca's headphones and it's weird, the connection she feels stream through her body. That smile on Chloe's face never once fades and she's starting up a new conversation about something Beca really isn't paying attention to because she is too busy being hypnotized by Chloe's Crest commercial smile and their newly conjoined hands.

 _Jesus_ , that smile could cure cancer.

"I hope you're hungry though!" Chloe says, swiping her thumb over the backside of Beca's hand and all Beca can do is shiver at the brush.

And then she feels the urge to lean over at the next red light, grab the bottom of Chloe's chin and kiss her senseless.

But she can't. Not yet. She wants it to be perfect - she wants this whole weekend to be perfect and hand holding, for now, is going to have to do.

* * *

_**Friday September 16, 2:40 PM** _

For lunch, Chloe informs Beca that they're going to this sports bar she and Aubrey always used to go to and claims they have the best french fries and hot wings like, ever. And Beca can't complain about french fries or hot wings, especially if there is a happy hour going on right now - which Chloe also informs that there is.

Maybe if Beca gets a few beers in her system she'll loosen up around Chloe and stop acting like a complete spaz when the redhead does says or does anything remotely flirty.

"Bree!" Chloe bounces on the heels of her feet, acting like it's been years since she has seen the blonde but really, they live together and probably saw each other this morning. Beca thinks it's extremely cute though, watching Chloe get so excited over seeing her friend, like a puppy dog getting ready for a walk.

Aubrey walks over to the Chloe's truck where Beca and she are waiting outside the restaurant and hugs Chloe tightly first before shifting her attention over to the added figure standing awkwardly behind the redhead with her hands behind her back and looking straight down into the ground

"You must be Beca," Aubrey says, causing Beca to lift her eyes from the ground and give the blonde a sheepish smile, along with a faint shrug. God, can she be anymore pathetic?

"That would be me." Beca nervously chuckles and blames her shyness on the pure look of evil on the blonde's face. Now that she thinks about it, this is Chloe's best friend she needs to impress if she wants anything with Chloe in the future - but by the steepness of Aubrey's eyebrows as she scans Beca head to toe means it might not be as easy as Beca thought it was going to be.

Like seriously. How could one person look so mean and intimidating? Obviously, Aubrey Posen can.

"You're basically a celebrity now."

Beca nods even though she rarely thinks of herself as a "celebrity." She hates the word and prefers the term "well known" instead.

"Which means you'll be around a lot of other celebrities."

Beca nods again.

" _Hot_ ….celebrities."

Okay, where was she going with this? "Uhhh…" Beca has no clue what to say and wishes she could just hide in her non-existent shell. "I mean...I-I guess so?"

"I just hope you….control yourself as sleeping around the Hollywood Hills is very tempting." Aubrey is talking like Beca's professors. Unclear and makes absolutely no fucking sense whatsoever. And did she just lowkey call her a slut? "Do you do drugs?"

"Bree…" Chloe tries to stop her friend from her personal questions but gets a hand up to stop her. She grabs one of Beca's hands, linking their fingers to assures her that she is right here next to her.

Beca relaxes at the touch but the look on Aubrey's face makes her tighten up again, knowing if she doesn't answer this question she might not make it back to LA alive.

"N-no. Uhh, I don't do drugs-I mean, I've tried weed like a couple times but who hasn't?" Beca jokes with a laugh.

"I haven't." Aubrey states, her poker face still scary as ever and it shuts Beca up almost instantly. At least she got a laugh from Chloe on that one. "Do you drink?"

"Yes."

Aubrey seems to like her honesty. "An excessive amount?"

"No." Though Beca thinks she might need more than a few beers if she wants to make it through this lunch with Miss Stick-Up-Her-Ass. Does this place sell hard liquor?

"You're going to school right?" Beca nods her head. "You have good grades? Not ditching class? What's your GPA?"

"Bree, come on," Chloe pleads and Beca prays that Aubrey loosens up a bit. For crying out loud, they just met and Beca is already getting the parental/bestfriend lecture? She and Chloe aren't even dating - well, not officially. She hopes to change that though. Plus, it's fucking hot in this parking lot and Beca might pass out right here, right now if she doesn't get some water and a cool breeze on her face pronto dente.

Aubrey's skeptical at first, her evil snake eyes flicking back and forth between Beca and Chloe. After what feels like a million years, she offers a small smile at Beca, sticking out her hand for a shake.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Beca." As Beca hesitantly shakes the blonde's hand, she looks around to see if pigs are flying because Aubrey really just smiled at her. Beca smiles back mostly confident as Aubrey takes her hand back. "I already reserved us a spot since this place is packed on Fridays. I just have to make a call, so I'll, meet you guys inside? The reservation is under my name."

"Sure!" Chloe agrees and grabs her wallet from the driver's side of her truck as Beca watches Aubrey go back to her car, dialing up whatever number she needed to get a hold of. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah but let me take this off first." Beca crosses her arms at the hem of her hoodie and tosses the material up and over her head. Keeping that on any longer would for sure be a sweat bath she does not want to experience in front of Chloe.

Chloe was right about one thing and that was how the weather was definite tank top time because as soon as she got her hoodie off her head and was now sporting a black spaghetti strap tank top, the sun felt amazing over her skin and the breeze helped cool her off immediately

She tosses the jacket back into Chloe's truck. "Okay, I'm ready." Beca announces with a smile and it seemed like Chloe spaced out for a bit but couldn't really tell where she was looking exactly because of her sunglasses. But if Beca were to guess, she'd say Chloe's eyes were on her chest. "Chlo?" Beca snaps the redhead out of her trance, smirking when Chloe's cheeks start to become flushed. _She was totally just checking me out!_

"Yeah!" Chloe says, her voice louder than before, maybe even cracking a bit towards the end. "Sorry about that. Let's eat!" And she gestures her head over to the sports bar before connecting one of her hands with Beca as they walk together towards the doors.

This whole hand holding thing was working up to being one of Beca's favorite things to do, she's not going to lie.

* * *

The place is packed, just like Aubrey said it was going to be, and thank God she called in before because the wait would have been an hour. Beca honestly doesn't think she could wait an hour as the delicious aroma of hot wings and hamburgers filled her senses. She'd go absolutely beserk of that was the case.

The bar is fun, Beca notices. There's a jukebox that some teenagers are picking songs to - "Sweet Home Alabama" is playing on the overhead speakers and it's all so different than what Beca experiences in California. The people here are more friendly, and their accents are strangely enjoyable to listen to, unlike LA where there's a bunch of stuck up, egotistical dirtballs (Aubrey's classification) walking around everywhere who think they're better than everyone else. Plus, there isn't a specific way California people talk, unless you count the blonde, valley girl you always get when ordering at Starbucks.

That gets real old, real fast.

Beca also can't help but notice that the servers around the bar are all female and well, wearing less clothes than Beca would expect. It wasn't that they were _naked_ , god no! But, the short red booty shorts and black, skin tight tank tops that looked as if their boobs were seconds away from bursting out the top was a little uncommon in a public setting that Beca has seen, not that she is complaining in the slightest because…she's definitely not.

The hostess leads them to their designated table while Chloe slips in first before Beca takes the chair right next to her. Aubrey shows up just in time and sit across from them and they say their thanks when receiving the menus.

"Hey guys!" The waitress greets with a wide smile and hands out silverware and napkins around for the three of them. Beca tries to advert her eyes from the boobs in her face when the waitress leans down and can't help but love this state already. She also feels dirty looking at some other girl's junk who isn't Chloe. But she can't help it when they're literally _right_ there. "What can I get you guys to drink….oh my goodness! Chloe Beale?!"

Chloe waves with a smile, standing up to hug the waitress over as she walks to the other side and Beca doesn't know what is going on right now. Maybe childhood friends? Cousins? _Please don't be an ex-girlfriend…_ "How have you been?! Roosters misses your bubbly charm here!"

"I miss being here, Cass!" Chloe sits back down, moving her chair nonchalantly closer to Beca's and Chloe's thigh bumps into her leg when she introduces the waitress, whose name turns out to be Cassidy, to Beca and Aubrey.

"Beca as in Beca Mitchell? Atlantic Records' new upcoming music producer who is working with Diplo, the amazing DJ Beca Mitchell?!"

"That's me." Beca smiles shyly, not feeling comfortable with the amount of attention coming from this waitress.

Cocky isn't really something Beca described herself as. Humble is more her state and whenever people would compliment her, she'd just smile, doing what she did best and make the whole interaction as awkward as awkward gets.

"No way! This is so neat!" The waitress gushes and reaches out a hand to shake Beca's. "I listen to your mixes all the time! You're so talented!"

Somewhere between Cassidy's out of the blue fangirl moment, Beca starts to zone out because this sort of attention is bizarre. And also, Chloe has this unpleasant scrunch in her eyebrows and her eyes aren't their usual glowy self, but rather, seem to be carrying a bit of heat as they stare down Cassidy. Beca would be lying out of her ass if this perturbed version of Chloe wasn't in the slightest bit sexy.

But _God_ , it is so sexy.

"Thank you." Beca laughs at the waitress before taking her hand back, telling her that she'd like a beer and when she hears the options of sizes for happy hour, you better believe she picked the 26oz.

Cassidy takes Chloe and Aubrey's drink orders as well; Chloe settles on a margarita that's filled with a bunch of girly colors and Aubrey takes a smaller size beer.

"So I take it you guys come here a lot?" Beca asks after the reunion meeting Chloe and this Cassidy girl just had.

"Actually, we use to work here." If Beca had a drink she'd probably end up doing a spit take as the images of Chloe dressed as one of these waitresses swam through her mind; the booty shorts, the pushed up boobs under the tight tank top, the flawlessly curled hair. It was almost too much for Beca to process.

"Really?"

"Yep. Worked here all four years of college until student teaching got in the way and I had to focus on getting my Master's." Oh how Beca wishes there were pictures of Chloe working back in the day. You know, for research. "Aubrey and I are probably still up on the bar's wall." Answering her prayers, Beca looks over to the area where Chloe was pointing and notices that there are frames upon frames, upon _frames_ of pictures of past waitresses. She notes that later on she has to go over there and get a look for herself because...you know.

The Research.

"Hey guys." Aubrey cuts in, pulling out her phone from her purse. "Stacie just texted me."

Chloe and Beca look at each other, wiggling their eyebrows up and down as Stacie was true to her word about texting Aubrey later today. Beca honestly thought Stacie was just saying yes to Aubrey's number to get Beca off her back. Never did she think she'd actually go through with it, not this soon at least.

"You should totally get at that Aubrey." Chloe teases and Beca nods her head to support Chloe's words. Aubrey and Stacie would make a total banging couple, with both their big brains and long legs.

Their child would be a pure gem with their God like genes.

"Um, not gay Chloe." Aubrey reminds with a squint to her eyes but manages to smile when she puts her phone back into her purse. "Stacie is very…very attractive and probably has tons of guys waiting in line for a chance to be with her even if I was interested."

"Girls, too. Blonde's are her favorite though so I think you'd skip up to the front of the line," Beca throws in with a wink, loving the blush Aubrey tries to hide with her hands before Chloe and Beca see.

They end end up taking mercy on Aubrey, not wanting to chance the blondes gag reflex right now and decide to change the subject. Beca makes a mental note to ask Stacie what she and Aubrey were talking about.

Beca asks a little about Aubrey, wanting to know more about the girl besides the fact she's a book nerd and was a psycho a cappella dictator who pukes under pressure. She ends up discovering a lot of cool things about Aubrey and turns out, she is working to be an orthodontist which is pretty neat by itself. All Beca knows is that back home, her orthodontist is super nice and it's a fucking high paying job. Plus she and Chloe have like, perfect teeth so it makes sense.

Aubrey and Chloe are also super adorable together, Beca concludes. Under all the inside jokes, the cute little things they do when they get caught thinking the same thing, it reminds Beca of her friendship with Stacie. The closeness of the two. How Chloe sometimes flusters Aubrey by certain comments and Beca immediately thinks about Stacie and her lack of a sexual filter. She thought that her relationship with Stacie was the ideal "goals" as best friends but after hanging out with Chloe and Aubrey for an hour, they're quickly on track to beat them

Well, not beat.

Maybe like, tie for first or something because let's be real, Stacie and Beca are the ultimate best friends.

The food comes quickly and Beca makes no hesitation to dig into her boneless hot wings and basket of fries because her hunger was no joke after not eating since last night. Just like Chloe claimed this place to be, the wings were delicious, even though she should've got the medium spicy ones now that her lips are close to a third degree burn. But the fries here were something that Beca went nuts over. She even asked for a second order of fries when Chloe told her to put their signature seasoning on them and they taste even better-like that was possible.

They fall into more light conversation to get to know each other more, mostly Aubrey and Chloe telling Beca things about Georgia and their lives down here. But sometime during the talk, Chloe reaches her hand under the table to bump the back of Beca's hand off her jeans so she can connect their fingers.

One of the many pluses about being left handed while Chloe is right handed. It allows secretive, under the table hand holding while they eat, which Beca is all of a sudden a huge fan of.

Chloe wears a thumb ring on her left hand that Beca can feel when the coldness of the silver touches her skin, and she finds herself playing with the ring, sliding it back and forth across Chloe's thumb knuckle. Sometimes the tip of Chloe's finger traces every single line on Beca's palm, studying the ridges, smoothness, where the lines end, where they connect and Beca feels her stomach knot until she thinks she feels sick at the motions.

"Did we save room for dessert" Cassidy asks politely, coming by to pick up their empty plates where they sit neatly at the corner. Beca glances at the dessert on the menu, her eyes going wide when she sees a mouth watering, chocolate mousse cake and Chloe asks her if she wants any-but Beca knows if she put anymore food in her stomach, she's going to hurl.

And Chloe doesn't-nor shouldn't be around to see that disaster unfold.

They all decline and Cassidy drops their check off at the table. It didn't look like she split the check and Aubrey is about to comment on this when Beca grabs the check from the blonde's hands and gives Cassidy her debit card to run, beating Aubrey to it.

"You didn't have to pay for me Beca." Aubrey smiles and she seems genuinely impressed by the gesture, which is like, automatic points on the "impressing the best friend" chart right?

"It was my treat." This was true and she was planning on paying for both of them anyway. Beca can feel Chloe's hand tighten around hers and she is smiling wide, eyes shining bright and it makes Beca's insides melt, but she covers it up by a nonchalant shrug, keeping her face steady when Chloe whispers a sweet thank you into her ear.

Beca finds out later when she signs the receipt that she wasn't charged for her beer, though Aubrey and Chloe's drinks were included, and when she does the polite thing and tells Cassidy about the mistake, the waitress dismisses with a flirty grin and tells Beca it's on the house.

Chloe hears this and instantly rolls her eyes, muttering something under her breath that sounds like, "Figures," and Beca can't help but love this jealous side of Chloe.

"I'm going to use the bathroom before we leave," Chloe says as she gives Beca's hand a gentle squeeze (Beca is still surprised that not once throughout their lunch had they separated) and a surprising kiss to her cheek before making her way to the bathroom. Aubrey is busy talking to some old friends that worked with her here and Beca is glad because she feels like her face is on fire after the tiny kiss to the cheek. Her face was already hot before due to the beer and hot wings and she may or may not be buzzing, and with the feeling of Chloe's lips lingering where she kissed, her cheeks were _burning up_.

She takes this time to steady her breathing, repeating to herself that if she is freaking out over a kiss like that, she's for sure going to pass out when they full on kiss for the first time. Her phone vibrates on the table and it surprises her when she sees Chloe's name on the screen. They were here, together, yet Chloe's texting her.

_**Friday September 16, 3:34 PM** _

_C: You look really pretty_

Beca can't help but grin, lifting her eyes from her phone and sees Chloe waiting by the bathroom with her phone in her hands, staring at Beca with a smile that slowly morphs into a suspicious smirk. As soon as she catches Beca's eyes, another text comes through.

_C: I kinda want to kiss you right now_

Beca's phone nearly slips from her grip Chloe is still standing patiently by the door of the bathroom, playing with her phone as she waits for Beca's reply

Feeling a little courage, thank you Bud Light, Beca texts back.

**B: Kinda? You don't sound so sure**

_C: I want to kiss you right now_

**B: So why don't you do something about it? Or are you all talk?**

_C: I know you want to kiss me too_

**B: Yeah I do**

_C: Then why don't YOU do something about it? Come over here and show me how badly you want to kiss me_

Beca's whole body is on fire, she doesn't know whether it's from the hot wings, the Georgia heat, or Chloe's texts - it's Chloe's texts and she watches Chloe chewing on her bottom lip in a way that's driving Beca up the wall. Now Beca knew Chloe didn't have to go to the bathroom. She just wanted the excuse to get up and get on her phone for a few minutes.

That _little_ sneak.

**B: No can do. I've never initiated a kiss before.**

_C: So you're NEVER going to kiss me unless I kiss you first?_

_C: Two can play that game ;)_

_What's that supposed to mean?_ Beca reads the message and furrows her brows confused, not knowing what Chloe meant. Beca is in the middle of her response when she feels Chloe's hands on her shoulders, massaging her skin soothingly and doing a hell of a fine job doing it.

"You guys ready?" Chloe's mouth is next to Beca's ear and she is very, _very_ close judging by the volume in her voice. And then her hands leave Beca's shoulders, grabbing her wallet off the table before smirking at Beca's dazed state. "You coming?" She winks seductively as she walks behind Aubrey out of the bar, and Beca knows what that text message meant.

And it's not looking good for Beca.

* * *

_**Friday September 16, 4:45 PM** _

Chloe's house is surprisingly impressive, for a couple of grad students. The grass is so green it looks fake, the house is a bleach white, and there are cute little fall decorations around the yard. Beca even notices a few plastic pumpkins on the window sill of the house and when she asks about it, Chloe replies, "You can never start too early being festive with the holidays Becs." And Beca smiles because _of course._

The jingle from Chloe's keys alert something inside the house and Beca hears a monstrous bark from the other side of the door. She grabs onto Chloe's arm to stop her from unlocking the door.

"I don't think I'm ready to meet Cujo just yet." The barking continues and now there is nails scratching against the wood, causing Beca to squeeze her hand harder around Chloe's arm.

"Oh stop being dramatic," Chloe teases and steals a few pinches to Beca's cheek before the brunette slaps her hand away. "Tank is _dying_ to meet you!"

"Really? Because it sounds like he's dying to eat me."

"Oh hush." Chloe unlocks and opens the door; Beca has one eye open and before she can brace herself, the horse of a dog that is Tank tackles Beca to the ground and starts to lick every inch of her face until Chloe is yanking the dog off of her by his collar.

"Bad Tank!" Chloe uses her authoritative voice to calm Tank and any other time, Beca would think her teacher-like tone is insanely sexy. But now, her face is dripping with dog drool and is pretty sure with the sudden throbbing in her back that she landed on a rock. "Heal!"

"See….he wants to eat me." Beca wheezes a joke, groaning as she gets up from the sidewalk and wipes her face with the back of her hands to get the drool off. Thanks Tank. Now she smells like poultry food and roost beef.

"He doesn't want to eat you." Chloe manages to control Tank's excitement. "He just gets super excited when he meets new people."

"Like mother like son, huh?" Now that Tank isn't going rabid, Beca reaches out a hand to pet him on the head. Once she does, Tank jumps up on his back feet and lifts his arms up to Beca's shoulders. "Jesus Christ!" She stumbles to keep this beast of a dog up as he is twice her size it feel like, especially on its hind legs and at any second, they both could pumble fast into the cement.

"See? Total lover boy!"

Chloe pulls Tank off of Beca for the second time and she knows it probably won't be the last. Beca follows Chloe into the house and has the chance to look around the place. If by the all the white couches, walls, pillows, everything really, Beca would take it that Chloe and Aubrey are big fans of white, which makes her whole house look clean enough to lick food off the ground, not that she's going to test and find out. But by looking at it, she'd probably be safe.

Seriously, the inside looks just as nice as the outside does, being the same blinding white, and it boggles Beca's brain at how they can keep up with a place as nice as this one. Especially with a dog.

"How do not stain your furniture?!" Beca is amazed by the perfection, not even an inch of the couch is discolored or stained and she thinks it's not normal for a white couch to be _that_ white. She eats Cheetos on a daily basis and she isn't even going to lie and say she doesn't wipe her fingers here and there against the black leather of her own when she forgets to grab a napkin.

She is a lazy person okay?

"Oh trust me, Aubrey is a Nazi when it comes to keeping our house clean." Chloe finds Beca in her living room area now admiring the chandelier hanging up in the middle of the room. There's lots of candles sitting on the shelves that make the whole house smell like lavender and Beca notices the sunflowers she got Chloe sitting on their dining room table, still blooming and looking freshly picked. Or grown? Whatever. They look almost fake at how healthy the leaves were and Beca praises herself on picking a nice batch. "Parents helped get us started and I had a lot in my savings to settle down at a cute little suburb place."

"Well kudos to you and Aubrey because this house is fucking nice." Beca still can't believe it, and actually, she's kinda jealous of how nice it is.

Chloe gives Beca the rest of the tour of her house and turns out, everywhere; her backyard, kitchen, study, basement, bathroom has white this, white that and Beca is starting to think that she just walked through the gates of heaven. And how the hell does a dog not make a sty out of this house? Beca wears a white shirt for an hour tops and it's inescapable, the food that's destined to spill all over it.

They make it to Chloe's room and Beca is taken aback by the lack of brightness there; Chloe's room isn't white but instead, the walls are a dark, charcoal gray. There are twinkling lights that hang all over her room and Beca remembers seeing them when she skyped Chloe the other night. What she doesn't remember was the excessive amount of posters hanging around and oh _god. Is that who she thinks it is?_

"Beale." Beca stops dead in her tracks, face appalled as she points to this unacceptable piece of trash hanging on Chloe's wall, roughly 22 by 34 inches in size. "Is that Justin Bieber?" Chloe's eyes widen as she sees what Beca is pointing at and rushes over to jump across her bed and use her arms to try covering up Justin Bieber's abs in his Calvin Klein photoshoot. "Explain." Beca crosses her arms, clenching her jaw tightly as she watches Chloe struggle dramatically to hide Bieber from Beca's eyes.

"You weren't suppose to find out like this!"

"When were you going to tell me?"

"It was a mistake...an expensive mistake that I couldn't just throw away Beca!" Chloe is blubbering up her best fake cries and Beca smirks because Chloe is the definition of adorable. Anyone who she can tease and who will then play along is a keeper, that's for damn sure.

Besides Bieber's junk all up in Chloe's face where she sleeps, Beca tries not to think about it because _yack_ , the rest of her walls are filled with other music posters and lots of old vinyl records that are organized by date, starting at the Beatles all the way to Ed Sheeran's X album.

Figures.

It reminds her of Luke's radio station where Beca got a job at her first year of college. Thinking she'd actually play some music for UCLA's radio station, she ended up just organizing millions of records.

"You really like music huh?" Beca makes the observation by the thousands of album covers glued together like a quilt that hangs in a giant picture frame above her desk. There's also a vintage camera on her desk, surrounded by tons of Polaroid pictures of her and friends and random objects in black and white. "And photography I see." In the corner of the room, there's a light blue, portable record player. She never knew Chloe was into this sort of stuff, the vintage stuff and whatnot.

"Yeah I do." Chloe steps close and puts her hand over Beca's where she traces the smooth lines on the record's disk with the tips of her fingers, her back pressed against Chloe's front. "My mom got this for me on my sixteenth birthday." Her voice sounds loud even as a whisper and Beca feels the hairs on the back of her neck rise by the closeness of Chloe's mouth next to her ear. The hand on her hip might have something to do with that, too.

Chloe lifts Beca's hand off the record before moving the tonearm down by a switch at the the corner of the table, all the way down until the cartridge is barely above the record. Pressing play, Matthew Healy's voice plays softly through the speakers built in the player and Chloe's other hand mirrors the one already placed over Beca's waist on the opposite side. They guide Beca's hips to sway gently from side to side in rhythm with Chloe's as they listen to "Robbers" through Chloe's player, and there's no talking going on between them.

And it should be an uncomfortable and awkward silence for Beca. But it's not. After spending all this time talking on the phone with constant communication, it's nice to just enjoy each other's presence for a while, listening to one another's breathing patterns. It's relaxing. Peaceful.

And when Chloe leans her cheek into the side of Beca's head, she finds herself leaning into her cheek as well, all the way until the back of her head is resting against Chloe's collar bone and stays there The hands on her hips ease around to surround her. As a reflex, Beca stiffens but it passes quickly, and in a move that's bold for Beca, she lifts her hands to cover Chloe's to make sure they stay put.

"I'm so glad you're here."

Beca could seriously get lost in Chloe's voice, whether it's her high pitched, child-like tone that oozes with excitement, or this raw, low and contented voice that is strong enough to send shivers down Beca's spine. It doesn't matter. All of her voices are like the gateway to a never-ending maze.

Beca doesn't respond, figuring that she couldn't even if she tried. She instead stretches a smile so wide it touches her ears, and it's terrifying how _right_ all of this feels with Chloe when Beca has never experienced nor felt this way about anybody before. Like everything makes sense with Chloe but she doesn't understand how it's possible.

Beca thinks that Chloe can sense her brain frying when her arms tighten around her waist, pulling Beca closer into her body. She can hear Chloe humming along to the lyrics, their hips starting to move on their own and Beca wants to kiss Chloe again. She wants to turn around so that's she's facing her and kiss her with so much passion that Beca didn't even knew she had inside herself

But Chloe's embrace is gone before Beca can work up the nerve to do it and she turns to see Chloe laying on her stomach in bed, arms crossed underneath the pillow, staring at Beca with her eyes daring her to do something next and Beca thinks she has reached her tipping point.

But Chloe is the type of girl who makes Beca feel nervous with just a look. Especially now, with her big blue eyes watching Beca's every move as she lays on her bed. Her legs are crossed at the ankles and where Beca is standing, she can see Chloe's calf muscle flex every time she moves her foot in a certain direction.

Chloe is jaw dropping, really. The closest thing to perfection Beca has ever seen.

She pulls out her cellphone from her back pocket before typing out a message.

_**Friday September 16, 5:12 PM** _

**B: Do you still want to kiss me?**


	10. New Facebook Status

_**Friday September 16, 5:12 PM** _

**B: Do you still want to kiss me?**

Beca presses send and watches Chloe's phone light up on her table next to where she is laying on her bed. Beca hasn't moved from the corner she has been glued to the moment she walked into Chloe's room but Beca can see Chloe's mouth curve up as she looks down at the phone's screen, her eyes not lifting to meet Beca's stare and she watches her thumbs type out a response.

_C: Yes_

The response is simple; one worded, but Chloe is staring at her phone with _that_ smirk plastered on her mouth like she just got done typing a secret and Beca feels a sort of push-or a tug that teleports her over to Chloe it seemed like, and she's hovering over Chloe on the girl's bed, waiting for the redhead to roll over so she could do something she has been _dying_ to do the first time she saw her.

What Beca said about her never initiating the first kiss back at lunch was true-though she didn't have a lot of kisses to start with anyways but still, she held herself proud that she wasn't the one to give in to the kissing. But then, Chloe comes along. With her bubbly charm, her pale blue eyes and those _fucking_ kissable lips and all of Beca's tolerances she has built from not giving in all these years was thrown right out of the window once Chloe looked up from where she was lying beneath Beca in between her arms.

Fuck waiting for the perfect time. Beca has waited to kiss Chloe when it wasn't physically possible for them to do so. But now, in a hands reach as Chloe flips over to her back, her hair sprawled majestically over her pillows and she's staring up at Beca with this glint in her eyes-like she was taunting Beca-challenging her with those bright blue eyes, Beca decided that now was the perfect time.

And that was enough for Beca to break, leaning down until she's pressing her lips against Chloe's and kissing her like she deserved to be kissed a long time ago.

Chloe doesn't waste any time at this bold move and her hands lift immediately to hold Beca at her cheeks, bringing their mouths closer together. The music fades in the background, Healy's voice starting to become muffled and Beca feels like she is trapped in a fishbowl.

Beca has imagined a lot of things during the time she has talked with Chloe. She wondered if Chloe uses the words "totes" or "def" when she talks in person like a real life Barbie doll, or if it is only a thing she did over text. She wondered if Chloe was as animated in real life as her voice made her seem through the phone.

She's wondered a lot with Chloe but never, in her wildest dreams, did she expect kissing the girl to be _this_ good.

All the air in Beca's lungs was sucked right out of her body once her lips touched Chloe's, the wind knocked right out of her gut, similar to what happened the day she was playing tether ball on the playground and Joseph smacked the ball straight into her stomach. This time though, it didn't scare Beca that she couldn't catch her breath, her life flashing before her eyes, thinking that she might've broken a rib or something.

Chloe's lips tasted like peppermint Burt's Bees and Beca thought her lips were soft but my _God_. Chloe's are _mind blowing._

The kiss is slow, so slow it doesn't even feel like either of their lips are moving. But they are, both of them savoring the new ground, something they have been waiting weeks for. It isn't until Chloe's tongue swipes daintily over Beca's bottom lip and the kiss quickly transforms into a heated-yet passionate make out session where Beca is releasing noises into Chloe's mouth that should make her feel embarrassed.

But Chloe is doing that sinful thing with her tongue and it's making Beca's body and sanity lose all control. And the wandering hands against Beca's ribcage aren't making it any easier and almost makes Beca's elbows buckle where they rest next to Chloe's head.

Beca sighs into the kiss, and she can feel Chloe's mouth stretch proudly across her own. And Beca knows it's a cocky smirk that's forming before she pulls away for some much needed air.

"Oh. Wow." Chloe's voice is a raspy type of low, lower than she has ever heard it before and it makes every muscle in Beca's stomach clench, her hands squeezing the material of Chloe's bedsheet on either side of her head. Beca's eyes are still sealed tightly, not planning to open anytime soon but she can feel Chloe's eyes burning into her like the sun. "Thank God you're a good kisser."

Beca feels the puff of air when Chloe wheezes a chuckle over her lips and at any other time, Beca would've teased the girl at how out of breath she was after kissing.

"Yeah," Beca exhales this word as she tries to regain all the oxygen back into her body. "You-...like-...I uh-..." Beca flat-out stops trying to form anything in the English dictionary because obviously, the taste of Chloe's mouth that is now imprinted on her's has her speaking in tongues. Finally, she eases her eyes open and she sees that Chloe's eyes are nearly black, her lips are swollen, and like many other times today, Beca admires how _beautiful_ Chloe is because she still doesn't know how it's possible.

"I had a dream about kissing you a long time ago." There's a lazy smile forming up at the corners of Chloe's mouth and Beca for the first time today, would rather not talk and instead, kiss that grin right off her face.

"You did?" Beca is honestly impressed that she was able to get this out without any flinches or bumps in the road. Chloe nods her head and Beca's vision bounces when her forehead is still resting over Chloe's.

"In my dream, I'm not going to lie, you were kind of a bad kisser," Beca snaps her head off of Chloe's offended, and watches Chloe cover her mouth with a hand to contain her giggles. "You used a lot of tongue back then in my dream!" Chloe defends as if it would make Beca feel better about herself and she's not even trying to hide her laughs anymore as Beca looks down from where she is still hovering above Chloe, unimpressed.

"Am I a bad kisser?" Beca asks, suddenly self conscious about her kissing abilities and worried she didn't live up to Chloe's expectations on the make out scale. No one has ever said anything bad about her kissing before, and she figured they would if she was _that_ bad.

Chloe's whole body is shaking with laughter and it makes Beca start to laugh because there was this thing about Chloe that she just can't resist not smiling around the girl. It should be scary really. That a couple hours with Chloe and already the girl is changing Beca like a model with her outfits on a runway show.

But Beca believes Chloe is changing her for the better.

"Shut up, you're a good kisser," Chloe presses her hands to Beca's cheeks, pulling her down again. Beca squints her eyes, not believing Chloe fully with her wounded ego, "a _great_ kisser." And okay, that makes Beca feel a little better, "so great that I want more of _that-"_ Chloe traces the edge of Beca's bottom lip with her thumb, "-before your dad steals you away from me." And she closes the space between them again, her smile fading once their lips touch and Beca allows herself to sink back into the kiss that feels just like the first time.

She loves kissing Chloe. More than anything else in the world Beca thinks.

Forget about hand holding; kissing Chloe Beale is now Beca's favorite thing to do.

* * *

_**Friday September 16, 7:12 PM** _

**B: Thanks again for dropping me off at my Dad's**

**B: is it weird that he already wants to meet you?**

_C: Of course Beca! :)_

_C: And no it doesn't surprise me, I'm pretty great ;)_

**B: Haha oh my God**

**B: But so true :-)**

**B: I had a lot of fun with you today.**

_C: Really? :)_

**B: Yeah :-)**

**B: Besides the sweating my dick off part. I'm already sunburned on my back**

_C: Very colorful with your words Becs ;)_

_C: I hope you brought some clothes other than your usual skinny jeans and flannel of the day. Not that I don't LOVE them ;)_

_C: That kiss was also something else :)_

_**B: You weren't too bad yourself ;-)** _

**B: FYI, I do wear things other than those…**

**B: I'm just saving them all up**

_C: For special occasions? ;)_

**B: Exactly!**

_C: Speaking of special occasions, can you give me a hint of where we are going tomorrow? :)_

**B: Ha, nice try Beale**

**B: No. That's for me to know and you to find out**

_C: Booooo, no fun ;) hopefully there will be more of those kisses ;)_

**B: Hmmm maybe**

**B: Alright, it's dinner time. Dad is taking me out to some lounge place nearby. I don't really remember the name of it.**

_C: Sandy Hills Lounge and Grill?_

**B: Yeah that one!**

**B: How did you know?**

_C: Everybody in Georgia knows that if you want a burger, go to the lounge and grill in Sandy Hills! It's like the only good thing they have in that town lol_

_C: They have, and I quote, "kickass burgers" ;)_

_C: Try their chocolate chocolate pie! It's SO good!_

**B: Haha okay. Will do**

**B: I'll text you after?**

_C: I may or may not be sleeping but yes of course, text me after :)_

_C: Have fun! I miss you already!_

**B: Impossible Chlo :-)**

* * *

_**Saturday September 17, 9:21 AM** _

When Saturday comes along, Beca forgets completely where she is when she wakes up the next morning peaceful, and she isn't being attacked by her leggy best friend. Plus, all her mixing equipment is gone, replaced by weird, old people stuff placed neatly over dressers, which is something definitely _not_ in her room back in LA.

Part of her thought that all of yesterday; meeting Chloe, driving with Chloe, eating with Chloe, kissing Chloe, was all a dream. A surreal, _amazing_ fucking dream that she could relive forever on repeat.

But when she sees that she is in the guest room of her dad's house and can already feel the humidity seeping through the cracks of the windows from outside, she knows everything that happened yesterday wasn't a dream.

And her stomach does somersaults at that realization when she snatches her phone off the charger and just like always, there's an unread message from Chloe just waiting to be answered.

However before she does that, Beca remembers a very intimate moment she shared with Chloe yesterday, unexpectedly, and knows Stacie is probably going to end up bombarding her with questions about her day when the girl finally wakes up, dying to know the steamy deets. So, figuring to get the call out of the way, she dials up Stacie's number.

Through the speakers it rings for a long time, almost to the point where Beca thinks Stacie isn't going to answer. She's about to hang up and maybe try texting her instead but suddenly, Stacie huffs and puffs into the speakers, the phone sounding like it's being tossed around back and forth and Stacie is grumbling into the phone with her sleepy, cranky filled voice.

" _For fuck sakes Beca do you know what time it is?"_

Beca facepalms herself because once again, she forgot out the time difference and knew no way in hell Stacie would be up at 6 in the morning on a Saturday without any excuse.

"Shit I'm sorry Stace. I keep forgetting about the time difference. You can go back to sleep-"

" _Nope. You woke me up so now you get to talk to me,"_ Stacie's voice is starting to sound less muffled and more clear, and Beca takes it that she isn't lying face down in her bedsheets anymore and instead, is getting herself situated better, " _what's up, munchkin?"_ A large yawn makes itself present on the other line.

"Chloe and I kissed yesterday," she says simply and straightforward, feeling that fluffing the situation with useless bullshit isn't necessary when talking to Stacie. So, she tells her as it is and pulls the phone away from her ear when Stacie squeals bloody murder through the other line.

Stacie gasps. " _You guys didn't! How was it? Is she a good kisser? She looks like a good kisser. I heard gingers are secretly freaks in the sheets….DID YOU BANG HER?!"_

Beca can't help but miss her overly blunt friend, wishing she was here in Georgia with her. Beca's day certainly isn't made without hearing the crass comments come from her friend's mouth. "Calm down Stace!" she says with a laugh. "No we didn't have sex. I thought kissing was maybe even too fast."

" _Too fast? You guys have been talking every day for a month already. That's longer then some of the relationships we see at school and you and I both know those hornballs are already fucking each other."_

"Very true." Beca snickers. Stacie was everything but wrong in this scenario. "But you don't think it's too soon? Like, we aren't even officially dating yet."

" _More like too late, Becs. I'm going to be honest real quick,"_ Beca gulps when she hears this. Stacie and her honesty is never a good thing and Beca isn't sure she can handle the harshness this early in the morning. She loved Stacie's wisdom, her tough love sort of attitude and brutal honesty when it came to advice. It has prevented Beca from doing a lot of stupid shit in the past but now, with Chloe, she feels her guard is down and she is too fragile for Stacie's opinion.

Not having any other choice since she's the one who called Stacie, Beca gives her the green light to say whatever she has to say.

" _Long distance relationships are hard, like I've told you before but, there's something magical that holds in them as well. When you go months, maybe even years without talking to the person you love then finally see them in person, it's fucking beautiful. Like, I tear up and get emotional."_ Stacie laughs briefly. " _Think of foreplay for a second."_

Beca cringes, slapping her free hand over her face. She should've been prepared for this to turn sexual, knowing her horn ball of a friend.

" _The time away from whoever it is, the texts, the phone calls, the Skype dates, hell even the nude pics-_ " snickering, Beca rolls her eyes. Where is Stacie going with this? " _-it's all a form of foreplay, and when you see that person, it's like a volcano of emotions that you didn't even realize you had until you see their face for the first time in what feels like an eternity. Am I right?"_

Stacie is pretty much spot on actually. When she saw Chloe at the airport for the first time, it was like she had no control over her emotions and they all hit her hard at once. Seeing Chloe took her breath away, made her heart skip a few beats. It was a moment Beca couldn't even explain.

"Yeah… you are."

" _So, you holding out to kiss Chloe, what, three hours?"_ Stacie asks and waits for a hum from Beca. " _Is_ _pretty_ _damn impressive knowing your heart and brain wanted to kiss her immediately."_

"God, you and your ability to read me is fucking bizarre I swear."

" _It's because you're my best friend. I_ _ **should**_ _know these things. But back to the kiss! How was it?"_

"Definitely worth the wait, that's for sure." Beca reaches her fingers up to her lips and if she keeps them there long enough, she can still feel the post-kiss tingle.

" _That good, huh?"_

"Yeah dude. I'm falling for her. Hard."

" _As if I couldn't already tell Becs."_ Beca could basically feel the eyeroll from Stacie through the phone. " _You basically talk to Chloe daily like she's a religion. Forget Judaism, your new thing is like... gingerism."_

Clever Stacie. Clever.

"That is….that is so not true," Beca at least tries to make herself believable. Poor thing fails miserably though as Stacie's cackles echo through her ear. "Shut up!" She pulls the phone away to rid Stacie's laugh, only to end up laughing herself. Pulling the phone back, "I heard you texted Aubrey. How's that going?"

" _Going fine?"_ Stacie seemed confused as why Beca was even asking this or even was interested. " _She's bomb at Chemistry and helped out a lot with the thing I had trouble remembering."_

There had to be more than that, "oh, that's it then?" Beca fishes; she knows there has to be conversation that wasn't school related.

" _I mean, we talked for a little afterwards when I asked her how she was so good at Chemistry. She fell into talking about her high school days and how she always loved the dentist which made her realize what she wanted to peruse an occupation around that."_ Bingo Beca, bingo. " _She's a nice girl, super cute, too, but like I said, I need a physical relationship and phone sex won't do for me."_

This was too much of a vivid image for Beca as she hides her face into her knees that were pressed up against her chest and starts to groan, "too early for sex talk Stace."

" _Too early?! Beca it's six here and I'm nice enough to answer your call!"_ Stacie huffs and puffs are exaggerated and dramatic. " _But I'm getting tired again and need my beauty sleep because I'm going out with Amy and Cynthia tonight."_

"Be safe. I'm not there to make sure you don't get out of line." Beca can only imagine the deep shit Stacie is going to get herself into without Beca there.

She'll probably have to bail the girl out of jail first things comes Monday.

" _I promise! Now, enjoy your date today. Text me everything!"_

"Will do Stace. Talk to you later."

" _See yah munchkin."_

Beca hangs up with a smile on her face. Talking to Stacie was always drinking a nice cool glass of water on a hot, summer's day. Refreshing. She could talk to her about anything and feel ten times better about it afterwards.

Sometimes.

She clicks over to Chloe's message next, wanting to talk to the redhead before she goes out to eat with her dad, not knowing what time she'd exactly be done.

_**Saturday September 17, 8:35 AM** _

_C: Good morning :)_

_**Saturday September 17, 9:35 AM** _

**B: Hey you :-)**

**B: How did you sleep?**

_C: Great! Well kinda…._

**B: Oh no, why just kind of?**

**B: You were already sleeping when I got back from dinner with my dad and Sheila :-P**

_C: Well I didn't really get much sleep because I was and still am wayyyyy too excited for our date tonight :)_

_C: How was dinner by the way? I kinda know you and your dad aren't or weren't really on good terms before coming down to visit_

**B: Goodness Beale…**

**B: Maybe start with that next time before you have me worried!**

**B: But I'm excited, too :-)**

**B: Actually, dinner was a lot of fun. Even with Sheila there.**

_C: Step mom?_

**B: Yep**

**B: I'm not really close to her so it was kinda weird to have dinner all together.**

**B: But she's not too bad though**

_C: Totally makes sense :)_

_C: But I'm glad it went well! Did you guys go back to your dad's house after?_

**B: Yeah, I was pretty exhausted and just wanted to go back and relax for the rest of the night.**

**B: Their guest room is fucking haunted though. I kept hearing weird noises and it was freaking me out so sleeping was rough.**

_C: Is Beca Mitchell scared? ;)_

**B: Uh yeah! I don't fuck with spirits. Hell to the no.**

_C: I think someone watches too many scary movies…_

**B: Actually that's Stacie and I'm more the opposite.**

_C: That's….surprising! You seem so tough and brave though ;)_

_C: Who am I going to cling onto at haunted houses then? :(_

**B: I mean, I'll be there for you until one of those fuckers tries to grab me but then, I'm using you for bait so I can get the hell out of there.**

_C: NO YOU WOULDN'T! Lolol Such an asshole ;)_

_C: We are sooooooo going to have a scary movie night :)_

**B: Nooooo why? :-(**

**B: I hate them so much. I don't even like regular movies.**

_C: Who doesn't like movies?! Are you even human?!_

_C: And because you haven't watched a scary movie with ME. I'm totes the best cuddler like...ever :D_

**B: They're boring, and predicable. I usually just end up falling asleep when Stacie makes me watch them.**

**B: Well, if watching a scary movie means a free cuddle sesh with you….count me out ;-)**

_C: SUCH A JERK MITCHELL!_

_C: I know you're secretly a cuddler and I'm going to get it out of you sooner or later ;)_

**B: We will see :-)**

_C: I probably already said this but I had a lot of fun with you yesterday :)_

_C: Tank is already barking up a storm, asking where his best friend is!_

**B: I do not believe that! He was seconds away from eating my face off…**

_C: You're such a scaredy cat Mitchell! ;)_

_C: I would've never guessed by your online image ;)_

**B: Whoa, I am not a scaredy cat**

**B: What was your first opinion about me when you discovered me online?**

**B: Now that you brought it up.**

_C: Going for the big guns huh Becs? ;)_

_C: Welllllll, I first heard about your music when I was a freshman in college I believe. And you only uploaded mixes that were kick ass but never pictures of your face. But then when I followed Stacie on Instagram and saw millions of pictures of you, I thought you were hot! ;) You wore a lot of eyeliner, more than you do now and had this image that was so….intimidating it was intriguing. And I couldn't get enough :)_

**B: Hmm is that so?**

**B: I am pretty good looking aren't I? ;-)**

_C: And when I got to know you, I thought you were a cocky little shit with all your modesty ;)_

_C: And never ending sarcasm :)_

**B: Hey, you said you loved my sarcasm :-(**

_C: Of course I do Becs! :) Which is weird because sarcasm isn't usually as hot as you make it seem.._

**B: Thank you ;-)**

_C: Great, just boosting your inflamed ego even more ;)_

_C: What was your first opinions of me!?_

**B: I thought you were just another a cappella nerd that had gorgeous eyes and used a shit ton of emojis ;-)**

_C: You're welcome by the way! Look at our messages from the first night we talked to now. You can't send a text without an emoji ;)_

**B: Yes I can**

**B: See?**

**B: That's already two texts :-P**

**B: DAMMIT**

_C: Lol! See Becs? I changed you for the best. Good influence ;)_

_C: What was your first IMPRESSION of me? :D_

**B: Besides Billy Joel's Uptown Girl?**

_C: Hey! I take that as a compliment! That's a pretty catchy song not going to lie ;)_

**B: Ugh, and to think I said you have good taste in music...**

**B: When I saw you, I thought you weren't tall enough to make fun of my height, FIRST OF ALL. I also thought you were the hottest damn redhead I've ever seen.**

**B: I was kinda nervous that you would act differently when I saw you in real life.**

_C: Did I meet your expectations?_

**B: Sure did, actually went above and beyond them :) You're something special Beale.**

_C: Same for you Mitchell, same for you :)_

_C: Wanna know my first impression of you?_

**B: Uh yes.**

**B: It only makes sense**

_C: I thought you were really small and cute and dainty in a way. But when we hold hands, your grip is strong, and I know it's from mixing a lot and because you're left handed. You have like, amazing hair and your eyes are this dark blue color that almost looks grey under dim lights, like in my room and I think they're beautiful. You're a closeted pansey who is scared of my dog, scary movies and probably more that I'm going to find out later ;)_

_C: But you were everything that I could've imagined you being. :)_

**B: Stoooooppp :-) I'm not scared of your dog! I just need to warm up to him a bit...**

**B: You wanna know a secret?**

_C: Yes! :D_

**B: I almost passed out when I held your hand the first time.**

_C: Oh really? I couldn't tell ;)_

_C: It only took you an hour to do it after all my dropped hints! Very disappointed in you actually ;)_

**B: It's scary okay? You say I'm intimidating but that's all you.**

**B: I didn't want to scare you away or something by going too fast**

_C: Becs, I would've kissed you when we were in the airport but I personally felt like it was too fast. Then, you had to go and say you never initiated a kiss before and that was an opportunity for me to break your little record, saying you'll never kiss me unless you're the one doing the kissing. It was really hard though :(_

_C: So glad you broke so easy ;)_

_C: But how am I intimidating?! Thats a first lol_

**B: Kissing you was so worth it :-)**

**B: And because you're pretty. THE perfect girl.**

**B: I'm socially awkward who occasionally makes a decent mix here and there. Have you seen the movie She's Out Of My League? Yeah well, you're a solid 10 as for me who is like a hard 2, maybe 3 on a good day.**

_C: Shut up Beca! Lol! If anything you're a 100000 and my sleazy ex co-worker would be more than happy to back me up taking that she flirted with you the entire time during lunch!_

**B: No she wasn't! She was being friendly.**

**B: Probably just being nice to get tips**

_C: And to get into a famous DJ's pants…_

**B: I knew you were jealous!**

**B: Don't worry, it looks hot on you ;-)**

_C: Whatever. You're mine and mine only Mitchell. Don't you forget._

_C: Especially with the Selena Gomez rumors going around._

_C: It makes me nervous_

**B: You're the only one I have my eyes on babe ;-)**

_C: You just called me babe._

Beca freezes when she reads this message and hurries to look back at her previous message and true enough, she typed in babe. _Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! This can't be happening!_ Beca panics as she tries to think of a cover up to her stupid big mouth that let virtual word vomit slip. It just felt so natural saying it to Chloe and she didn't think much of it until now.

Chloe probably thinks she's pathetic.

Fan **fucking** tastic

**B: Shit, I'm sorry. It just...fuck I don't know**

**B: It just felt right saying it**

**B: Did I officially scare you away?**

_C: Calm down Becs! You didn't scare me away :)_

_C: I just didn't think you, of all people, would go for pet names_

_C: I love it. A lot :)_

**B: Really? You aren't just saying that to make me feel better?**

_C: Nope :) I kinda wanted you to be the first one to say it so I can start calling you babe, or baby._

_C: Buttercup is a cute name for you but it's sooooo long :(_

**B: I mean you can call me Beca…..that IS my name and not too long, not too short ;-)**

_C: Not going to happen BABE ;)_

**B: Ugh, incorrigible Beale...**

**B: Well, I'm having lunch with my dad so I have to go get ready.**

**B: But then I'll text you when I'm on my way to pick you up for tonight?**

_C: Sounds good :) I'm super excited!_

_C: I promise to be ready at 6 :)_

**B: Good, I'll talk to you later :-) Don't miss me too much**

_C: Can't promise you anything ;)_

* * *

_**Saturday September 17, 11:32 AM** _

Beca and her father were getting seated at some cozy breakfast place close by his house that Warren claims to be his favorite. He says he usually gets a coffee from here everyday before classes start and stops by on Wednesdays because it's free pie day. Sadly, today is Saturday and not Wednesday but he promises to buy Beca a box of whatever pie she wants.

Maybe she can share it with Chloe or give it to her when she picks her up tonight.

Oh, that reminds her.

"Hey dad." Beca starts, looking up from her menu and continues when her dad hums in response. "What are some fancy yet not so fancy places to take someone down in Atlanta?" She probably shouldn't have waited until the day of her and Chloe's date but she wanted a reliable source- which is her dad, and having Shelia around last night during dinner didn't make her feel comfortable talking about something like this.

Shelia was cool but hasn't earned that privilege to know who and everything that goes on in Beca's love life.

Her dad pauses from readings the menu to glance up at Beca. "Oh yeah, there is a lot to do in Atlanta. What do you have in mind?"

This was something Beca hasn't even thought about. She wanted this night to be special and perfect for Chloe, not knowing when the next time will be once she leaves back to LA but didn't know what would good enough to match her expectations. Chloe was an out doorsy type of girl. She liked hiking, running, fishing basically everything Beca hasn't even tried once before. She also likes music-which Beca already tried to see if any cool concerts or festivals that were going on but there wasn't.

Chloe isn't a complicated girl like most are and Beca knows that she isn't looking nor wanting to do anything too fancy for their date. But it still didn't help sort out her options because this was the first time Beca has actually had to plan a date. Everytime she was asked out, the guy always took her wherever it was they were going to go for the night and it usually ended up being a cliche dinner and movie-which Beca fucking hated.

Movies were something Chloe enjoyed also, so even though Beca couldn't stand sitting through one, she did it for Chloe in a heartbeat.

"I don't know," Beca chuckles, running a hand through her hair to as her dad doesn't hesitate to eye her suspiciously. "Just….something nice I guess."

"Is this a date?" He starts to wiggle his eyebrows in a way that makes Beca feel uncomfortable and this seems to be noticed by her father as he continues the movements intentionally.

Beca grumbles a inaudible "yes" under her breath, averting her father's eyes as best as possible by looking down at the menu. His stare is burning two holes deep in Beca's forehead the longer she ignores the question and when he asks her again, she has no other choice but to lean her head back with a guttural groan.

"Yessss it's a date," Beca admitted a little louder this time and watched her dad's eyes light up like a Christmas tree as she replaced the food menu as a fan to cool down her all of a sudden hot face. It usually wasn't a lot to get Beca flustered but once you add Chloe into the equation, _phew_.

She's a goner.

"May I ask who?" Beca raises an eyebrow before her dad adds, "whoever it is, I do have the right to know since you're my daughter and all." But that evil grin he is now sporting on his face gave it away that he knew exactly who Beca was taking out and was only using this, "playing dumb" card to tease Beca.

"You know who it is," Beca retorts back and continues to scan the menu for something to eat, away from her dad's teasing that is ruffling her up by the second.

A young and very polite waiter swings by their table, offering them one of the restaurant's signature summer smoothie and other beverages that seem to be just as popular. Turns out after Beca asked, Georgia was known for peaches and this restaurant so happened to have peach flavored everything. Taking the waiter's word on this, "signature smoothie," Beca orders one as her father asks for a water.

"I'll be right back with your drinks guys!" The young boy skips away with a smile and Beca watches him until she can feel her father's eyes on her again.

Being right, her dad is still patiently waiting for an obvious answer to something he already knows and Beca rolls her eyes before answering.

"Chloe."

Her dad gasps with a surprised smile. Also a very fake one too, "redhead Chloe?"

Beca nods her head even though both she and her dad only know one red head named Chloe so there wasn't a lot to chose from.

"The one who dropped you off yesterday?"

Beca nods once more.

"She's a pretty one Becs." Beca ends up smiling at this because duh. Chloe's jaw dropping from afar but once you get to actually _know_ her on a personal level _,_ the girl is damn near _perfect._ "You guys could go to Fogo's. It's a Brazilian Steakhouse that I took Sheila to one night and it was delicious very good option for date night."

Though it was a tempting offer once steak was mentioned, Beca knew absolutely nothing about Brazilian steak-or if it is the same in comparison to American steak. Also, she didn't know if Chloe would even like Brazilian food and chancing that doesn't seem like a great idea with only two days to impress her.

She wants it to be a surprise, she wants Chloe to have fun and overall, she wants tonight to be perfect.

Beca shakes her head, declining that option as her father ponders up some more ideas.

After thinking for a while, her dad's eyes shoot out from his skull with eyebrows raised pass his hairline. "How about Canoe's?!"

Beca knits her brows together confused as to why this was even an option. Outdoor activities weren't her forte and he should know that. "Like, in a river or something?" First of all, Beca is deathly scared of water; lakes, rivers, the ocean, whatever it is, it doesn't matter. She's still scared of it. And second, she's never been canoeing so that's a shit show waiting to happen. Talk about embarrassing when she isn't able to get the canoe to move down the river with her date waiting patiently in the back. "Hard pass dad."

"No Becs not canoeing," he chuckles at Beca misinterpretation. "It's a beautiful restaurant that runs along the peaceful banks of the Chattahoochee River. It's listed one of the romantic spots in Atlanta." Okay, this sparks some interest in Beca. "Then after you guys eat, there's the drive in not too far away. You guys could relax and digest while watching some movies. How does that sound?" he suggests with a bright smile and a small shrug, surprising Beca at how helpful he was being.

It took a lot of weight off her shoulders with being able to talk about certain obstacles with someone and she is glad it was her dad doing the helping.

"That's actually-" Beca starts with a shake to her head, snickering, "-that's actually a great idea." And yeah, maybe it's the typical cliche date and Beca is technically a, "hypocrite" but this idea was way better than all those other guys who've taken her out on dates combined.

She and Chloe would wine and dine at some fancy restaurant and then, head over to watch some movies to end a wonderful-hopefully- night.

But then she thought of something.

"Obviously we are going to dress up if we are going to dinner, what do we do about the movies? They usually play three don't they? I want to at least be comfortable."

"Pack some clothes and take my truck not my car. You guys could camp out in the bed or walk around. There's a grassy area where people bring lawn chairs and blankets to watch the movies." Beca nods her head. At least now she doesn't have to ask her dad for his car.

Everything was starting to flow perfectly now.

Beca was relieved by all of this honestly, now that she has a game plan for her date with Chloe tonight. Quite frankly, it was starting to become worrying that she hasn't even picked a place to take the damn girl.

But now, with a top rated restaurant planned and a destination to go afterwards, she was able to exhale a good amount of stress air before enjoying the rest of lunch with her dad and couldn't help but to eagerly anticipate her date tonight.

* * *

_**Saturday September 17, 5:30 PM** _

**B: SOS.**

**B: SOS SOS SOS.**

_**Saturday September 17, 5:35 PM** _

**B: STACIE THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!**

_S: Oh my God Beca you barely gave me five minutes to answer your damn text!_

_S: What's going on?!_

**B: Finally!**

**B: It's a half hour away from my date with Chloe and I may or may not be shitting my pants at the thought of it!**

_S: Okay, chill Beca, the world is not ending_

_S: Where are you?_

**B: Down the street from Chloe's house…**

_S: Why the Hell are you down the street?_

_S: And also 30 mins early?_

**B: Because I was too excited for the date and got ready a lot faster than I thought I was going to and just ended up leaving.**

**B: Then I picked up some flowers and got to her house faster than I thought I would so now, I'm awkwardly waiting down the street until it's time to pick her up**

_S: Okay, that's not creepy….at all_

**B: STACIE.**

_S: Haha okay sorry sorry!_

_S: Beca, this date is going to be awesome, especially when you told me what the plan was for you guys. Jesus, I'd give my right tit to go on a date like that._

_S: And you KNOW how much I treasure my goodies._

**B: Haha very true**

**B: I just….I don't know why I get so nervous around Chloe**

**B: It's literally everytime we hang out. I never get this way over the phone because there is less of a chance of making a complete fool out of myself in front of her.**

_S: I think it's because you love her._

**B: WHAT?!**

**B: HA very funny Stacie.**

_S: I'm serious boo_

_S: I know you better than I think you know yourself and I say you love this girl._

**B: I...that's crazy Stacie**

**B: I've only known Chloe for a month.**

_S: There isn't a designated time when you fall in and out of love Becs. When it shows, it fucking shows-whether it's a week, a month, or a year_

_S: I don't want you thinking about this during your date because you already have a lot on your plate_

_S: Just….think about it._

**B: Okay I will.**

_S: You're awesome Becs. In the words of Fat Amy since she's hovering over my shoulder right now, "you're the big BM. Beca motherfucking Mitchell!"_

_S: Not bowel movement :)_

**B: Fucking disgusting**

**B: But thanks guys. Tell Amy I said hey and say I'm counting on her to keep a close eye on you.**

_S: I can't be tamed B ;)_

_S: Have fun on your date! Let me know how it goes in the morning!_

_S: Go get yourself a hot tamale ;)_

**B: Oh my...**

**B: Will do.**

Tossing what Stacie said away for now, Beca takes a few deep breaths before driving the rest of the way to Chloe's house. The only thing making any noise in her dad's truck was the voice of her GPS system, informing her that she made it to her destination after not entirely remembering where Chloe lived. Silencing the device, she takes another few safety breaths, grabs the beautiful bouquet of dahlia flowers out of the passenger seat before getting out of the truck. She straightens out her black, sleeveless, button down blouse which so happened to match a nice fitting pair of black jeggings and wedged heels.

You know, keeping her edgy image alive and well while also sending the message that yeah, she can dress to impress and does it damn well too.

She also stalls for a little, looking over her phone, taking in the aroma of the flowers that sit in Chloe's front yard until the time hits exactly six.

When she makes it to the front door, she wipes her hands on the sides of her pants to get rid of all the sweat which seems to come in bucket amounts and rings the doorbell.

As soon as that ring chimes through the house, the sounds of Tank's nails scraping against the tile can be heard from the other side of the door as well as a constant bark.

Chloe's voice then makes a muffled appearance as she orders Tank to sit a few dozen times before it actually seemed like the barking was under control. She opens the door with the biggest grin Beca has ever seen on her let alone anybody before as she is holding Tank back by the collar.

"Someone's excited to see me," Beca jokes as she kneels down to pet Tank behind the ears when he is calmer and automatically, he rolls over on his back for some attention in a new spot. He was cute, super cute actually once Beca gets pass the beastly size of Tank.

Giggling, "just like his momma I guess." Beca rubs Tank's belly for a second before standing up straight to face Chloe, who still is smiling wide at the interaction and when she does, her breath hitches at the sight of Chloe's outfit.

Leave it to Chloe to make Beca basically stop breathing altogether by how physically flawless she is dressed right now and just, wow. Chloe blows the top off the sexiness scale with her burgundy, v-neck crop top, whose sleeves run down to her elbow and is showing off the very top of her abdominal muscles- which is a clear sign to Beca that she has a very, very toned stomach. Sadly, Beca can't confirm nor deny this hypothesis as the rest of Chloe's stomach is covered by a white, high waisted skirt, leaving her God made legs out in the open for all to see, punching Beca in the gut whenever her calf or quad muscles flex and she's wearing black, single buckle heels to finish the masterpiece.

Truthfully, it's almost too much for Beca to handle.

"You good?"

Beca manages to break out of her admiration over this girl and catches Chloe staring back at her with a brow raised.

"Yeah no," Beca shakes her head out of it, hoping to get a grip on herself. "Super...awesome," and then, she laughs a nervous chuckle, only heightening Chloe's suspicion to the maximum.

"Really? You didn't answer my question."

Oh shit. Chloe was talking to her?

Beca can't even come up with a lie as a response and try to cover up that fact that she was one hundred percent _not_ paying attention to what Chloe was saying as she was instead, too busy being casted under a spell by every Goddamn curve on her body, making it impossible to think about anything else.

Beca scratches the back of her neck awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm going to be honest and say I wasn't paying attention. Your beauty kinda...threw me off a bit," she finishes breathless and sees Chloe start to laugh and because it's contagious, Beca starts to mirror the laugh also, "what did you say again? Sorry."

"I didn't ask you anything," Chloe's says simply once she gets her giggling under control. "Your face was a clear indicator that you were zoned out on something so, having a little fun, I said I asked you a question when I didn't."

Chloe's evil Beca comes to a conclusion. She's also the hottest human being Beca has ever been around and is biting her bottom lip guilty with her eyelashes batting-which doesn't do anything for Beca except make her want to grab and pin Chloe to the nearest wall, kiss her until she forgets her first name and make this planned date night out a date night _in_.

Beca, for the millionth time tonight it feels like, regains her breathing by a few deep breaths before speaking again, "you Beale are something else."

Beca forgets about the flowers in her hand as she holds onto them for God knows how long until Chloe glances down at them by her side, "oh yeah," handing over the flowers, Beca shrugs her shoulders. "Thought you needed some more of them."

Chloe reaches for the flowers with her signature smile and smells each one individually. "Thank you Becs. They're beautiful."

Chloe leaves to go to the kitchen and find a vase for them, leaving Beca and Tank, who is laying down besides the door to wait for her to come back. After hearing dishes clank around in the kitchen for a whole, Chloe comes out with the bouquet now in a vase and places it down next to the sunflowers on the living room table before making her way back to Beca.

"And also, you look amazing right now so really, I should be the one doing the staring," Chloe finishes her sentence with a wink and leans in close to give Beca a quick but tender kiss and again, just like before, it felt like Beca just stepped off a plane into negative degree weather. All the air in her body sucked right from her lungs leaving it impossible to breathe.

She doesn't have asthma but if she plans on kissing Chloe anymore-which, she does- she might want to take into consideration an inhaler if she wants to continue breathing on her own in the near future.

"Who knew someone could make all black so damn sexy?" Chloe's voice tickles Beca's lips from still being so close and Beca can't help but shiver at the compliment. She inches her face away from Beca, long enough to see her dazed state briefly before hooking their hands together, grabbing her extra clothes Beca mentioned earlier to pack and making way out the front door. "You wanna tell me where we are going now?"

Snapping out of it when Chloe starts to lead them out the house, she snorts up a laugh, "nice try Beale."

* * *

_**Saturday September 17, 6:16 PM** _

Beca knew going into Canoes meant she was taking Chloe to one of the top rated, romantic places to go in Atlanta but never, did she expect the place to be _this_ divine.

"Beca," Chloe stops to gawk at the scenery around their reserved table outside. Beca made sure to ask for the best spot in the house because that's simply what Chloe deserved. "This is a place I've been dreaming about going to but just haven't gotten the chance to go." Chloe is giving Beca that watery smile again before giving Beca a hug and instead of feeling like she was going to cry, she feels proud that she was able to cross that off her bucket list.

Their host who seats them notices the interaction and gives Beca a silent "awh" with amorous eyes- which only makes Beca blush hard into Chloe's loose and perfected curls in effort to hide the amount the redness.

Chloe is the first to pull away from the hug and when she does, Beca sees a lone tear roll down her cheek and wipes it away before pulling out Chloe's chair for her to sit.

Just like her father said, the restaurant is placed along a gently streaming river, accompanied by a colorful garden of grass, flowers and trees, under the crisp white tents that hand above the balcony of the restaurant. There was even a sidewalk that ran next to the river, along with random park benches just incase you and your date wanted to go for a nighttime stroll.

Like, what even?!

As for the inside, it is just as classy as the outside was. The inviting interior blends wood, brick and ironwork to create a casually elegant atmosphere. The smell of fresh salmon and pine needles radiating through the air.

The place was truly amazing.

They order their food; both ended up picking the grilled Atlantic salmon since it smelt amazing coming from inside the kitchen and also, their waitress claims it to be the best on the menu. So, taking her word, they both chose that, along with their best bottle of champagne to drink.

"I'm fine with water Becs," Chloe chimes in and gushes a smile at Beca when she proceeds to tell the waiter her date is crazy and doesn't know what she's talking about, clearing up that they _will_ take the best bottle of champagne in the house. "You don't know how much that bottle is going to be babe."

The new name does some serious damage to Beca but with some much needed practice, she doesn't make it obvious. She is honestly starting to love this whole pet calling business going on and wouldn't mind hearing that for the rest of her life.

Money was never a big issue with Beca since she was busy working, or constantly playing gigs at Luke's. And now, with Atlantic talking about royalty splits for the new album, as well as Diplo generously paying her hourly for studio time which starts when she gets back to LA, she has money to spend.

And she doesn't mind blowing it all on one night if it means making Chloe the happiest girl alive.

"Don't worry about money tonight," Beca assures with a similar smile, reaching over to grab Chloe's hand on the table. "Tonight is all about you."

* * *

_**Saturday September 17, 7:13 PM** _

Dinner went better than amazing as they got loss in casual conversations about whatever popped into their heads, feeling a pretty good buzz off the champagne Beca ordered- which was now half empty. It was until the waitress came back with their food and it nearly put them into cardiac arrest with the portion size of each dish.

Living up to expectations as well as keeping the restaurant high on the list, the food tasted phenomenal as they basically licked every last speck of food off their plates. When the waitress asked them if they would be planning on ordering a dessert, Beca and Chloe both shared a look on their faces that showed they'd love to finish the evening off with cake but knew the salmon alone stuffed them. It isn't until the waitress asks if they want a dessert to go and with that question, Beca quickly yanks the menu off the table for her and Chloe to pick a dessert for the both of them.

They ended up both eyeing the white chocolate mousse cake coincidentally and the waitress tells them the wait shouldn't be that long before heading back into the restaurant.

"Thank you for dinner," Chloe smiles genuinely, her big, blue eyes now have a glassy tint over them from the amount of champagne. She reaches across the table to play with one of Beca's hands. "I had a lot of fun tonight."

"Don't quit on me now Beale," Beca teases a smirk. "We have a full chocolate cake to eat and more activities to take on."

"Oh trust me. I'm ready," Chloe's small smile grows wide into a cheeky grin. "Born ready."

"Good." Beca lifts Chloe's hand to place a light kiss over her knuckles. "Hey, can I get a picture of us here?" Chloe seems surprised that Beca is the one asking for the picture and not herself. She wasn't one to be photogenic-or even like being in the pictures Stacie would force her to take but just like everything else, with Chloe it's different. "I just, want to look back at this night forever."

If possible, Chloe's eyes light up even more and she's nodding her head to answer Beca's question. With this, Beca reaches into her back pocket and snatches out her phone to face the camera towards Chloe and her.

Before she clicks the side button on her iPhone, Chloe moves to place a lingering kiss on Beca's cheek, waiting until the picture in taken before removing her lips. Beca and Chloe both smile at the end results of the photo and by that time, their waiter is back with a to-go box and the check.

* * *

_**Saturday September 17 7:45 PM** _

With Beca's luck and missing the first showing due to being at dinner, the drive in is playing some romantic, chick flick and of course, a scary movie to end. She doesn't know how she's going to be able to sit through two movies, especially coming from this type of genres but being able to sit and watch them with Chloe seems to be out weighing her hatred for the two by a landslide.

They made it to the drive in around seven thirty after taking turns at the nearest convenient store, just in time to see the end of the first movie but neither of them seemed to be interested in it enough to pay attention. The sun was still out, barely, so Beca decides to park the truck in the dirt parking lot close to the designated spot for their size vehicle before getting out some blankets for them to sit on over in the grassy area beneath the screen.

"I don't remember the last time I've been here." Chloe watches Beca spread out a few blankets on the grass before taking a seat and patting the ground next to her for Chloe to join.

Beca from her part and having the view where she is sitting, marvels at every little centimeter on Chloe's body. With her curls now falling delicately out of a loose ponytail, just above a navy blue, long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of simple, white athletic shorts with black flips out to relax her feet after walking in heels all through dinner.

Don't get Beca wrong, she loved the skirt and crop top on Chloe probably more than one could imagine. But right now, seeing Chloe dressed so casual and laid back like she was chilling at home is the the most attractive sight Beca has seen on anyone.

And she's positive no one except for Chloe is going to change that.

Beca moves over on the blanket to give Chloe more room to sit. "I've never even been to a drive in so this is exciting." Beca hates movies. She truly does. But the drive in, after only being here a total of fifteen minutes is already pretty neat to experience. The whole movie outside is relaxing and the fresh air feels amazing as it's not too hot, not too cold.

"No way?!" Chloe gapes at this new information, eyes the size of saucers and Beca nods her head with a chuckle. Chloe is just _too_ adorable. "This is exciting for the both of us then!"

"Very true Beale," Beca snickers with a nudge to Chloe's shoulder before she's gone and smacks the top of Beca's knee for her to open up.

Chloe fills the space in between them when Beca gets the hint, resting her head on the left side of Beca's chest, her back molded directly into Beca's front to the point where she feels her heartbeat. Arms snake around Chloe's torso from behind and runs them across Chloe's arms until she makes it to her hands, where Beca tangles their fingers together to lay delicately over Chloe's lap. Beca pecks Chloe's temple and has a desired effect as she hums into the touch, letting her body relax into Beca's embrace.

The second movie ends up starting and Beca has no idea what the movie is even about. Chloe is trying as best as she could to explain to her that this movie was based off a popular novel about this one guy who becomes paralyzed after being in an accident and this girl ends up taking care of him and eventually they fall in love.

Or so she thinks.

Honestly, Beca majority of this movie isn't even paying attention as she is glued watching Chloe instead since that's a _way_ better show to watch and also less predictable than this rubbish they call romance. Plus, she is loving that Chloe is wrapped up in her arms as she feeds Beca the cake from the restaurant-which should be illegal at how delicious it is and everything is just beyond compare.

It isn't until Chloe gets a little restless towards the middle/end of the movie when she starts to speak up.

"Beca, I have something to tell you and if I don't get it off my chest now I think I might explode," Chloe urges out and Beca lifts her cheek off the top of Chloe's head so she could turn around in her arms, devoting the redhead her full attention.

When they're finally facing each other, Chloe continues, "I haven't felt this way in a long time but I know the feeling when it comes and trust me when I say this, the feeling comes in like a wrecking ball when I'm only around you."

"Okay Miley," Beca snickers as Chloe's tries to hide a smile under a playful eye roll.

"What I'm saying is that being with you makes me feel like I'm skydiving, on a constant adrenaline rush, or at the front of a roller coaster when that first scary drop happens." For the first time, Chloe seem truly timid and it's a strange sight for Beca to see as she's usually familiar with that bubbly and outgoing Chloe who's filled with puppies and rainbows. "You're always constantly on my mind and you make my heartbeat flutter like a hummingbird and I think it's because.." Chloe stops to take a deep breath, and Beca thinks she can her Chloe's heartbeat when she talks. "I think it's because... _I love you._ "

Everything goes mute when those words slip passed Chloe's lips and Beca thinks for a second that the world stop revolving. And she also thinks she might've stopped breathing.

"I know we haven't know each other for a long time but when I talk to you, it feels like I've known you my whole life. And I've tried to ignore these feelings I have towards you but I just can't anymore Beca." Chloe's eyes are laced with so much sincerity Beca can physically feel her emotion through them,"I love you Beca."

Still, everything is muffled and even when Beca tries to open her mouth to say something; she has to immediately close it shut again when nothing comes out. Not even a sound is heard and she's starting to thinks that her body has become completely frozen.

"Please say something," Chloe says when Beca zones out with stone cold in stare and a blank expression. "Anything," she pleads, her voice fragile and hits Beca in her gut at every piece of glass broken off. But still, Beca can't muster up the proper words to come out and say what she has been dying to-she thinks- and Chloe's face doesn't waste a second before her smile transforms into a frown with her eyes lowered into her hands, defeated.

Awful doesn't even come close to how Beca feels when she sees this transformation and mentally kicks herself at the lack of verbal communication she has going on right now. This was the last thing she wanted to happen;last feeling she wanted Chloe to feel.

Enough is a enough when Beca uses her hand to raise Chloe's face up by the bottom of her chin until their eyes meet. "So like, I totally suck and am experiencing major alexithymia. Are you familiar with the word?" Chloe shakes her head, eyes are still shown wounded and it kills Beca to know she was the cause. Sighing, "well, it's the inability to describe emotions verbally." Beca can see Chloe processing this through her head, "it seems like I've been experiencing this a lot when I'm with you and I don't really know why. But instead of telling you, I'll _show_ you."

Giving Chloe absolutely no time to react, Beca hooks her hand around Chloe's neck and brings her in until their lips are pressed together, pouring all the emotions she was unable to express through this single kiss.

Chloe is stiff at first, sort of taken back by the sudden action but soon, with the gentle help of Beca's caressing thumb across her jawline, she begins to kiss her back. It's not rough, it's not slow.

It's _perfect_.

Breaking away from the kiss, Beca's mouth now cold where Chloe's lips were, "I love you too," Beca says this as an exhale, not realizing how breathtaking it would be saying this for the first time ever. "God, so much it should honestly _scare_ me….but it doesn't. Not in the slightest Chlo."

Chloe's eyes still remain closed from the kiss but even under the moon's glow, Beca can see her lip doing that trembling thing again and does the only thing that comes to mind when catching this.

She kisses her again. But this time when Beca does, Chloe's kiss is salty and wetter than usual but nonetheless still able to have Beca gasping for air when she finally pulls away.

Tears are evident on Chloe's cheeks as the streams from each one shimmers under the light. "You cry an awful lot," Beca teases with a wink as she wipes Chloe's cheeks until they're dry and receives a half giggle, mixed when some sort of choked up sob and her eyes are pooling with the next rounds of tears. "But I mean it Chlo. With you, nothing is scary about the word love as you make me feel safe and secure. I love you Chloe Beale."

"And I love you Beca Mitchell," Chloe wheezes out a few more adorable crying noises before she is the one leaning into Beca doing the kissing and kissing her with so much passion that if Beca was standing, her knees would give out.

Ironically when their lips fall in sync with each other, the movie on screen so happens to have the main characters kissing in the same romantic way, similar to how Beca and Chloe are doing now and the music from the movie adds to moment as kissing and being here with Chloe makes Beca feel like she is living in a real life fairy tail.

And it's _fucking_ awesome.

Beca doesn't try to hide how winded she is when Chloe is the first to separate but the space between them almost nonexistent as their noses are still touching. "So I guess I should update my Facebook status huh?" Chloe's smile is immediate as the corners of her lips twitch up against Beca's and nods her head and steals a few more pecks before sitting back to lean her head on Beca's shoulder.

"Can I get a picture?" Chloe's already nodding before Beca can fully get the sentence out.

"Of course. Just let me fix myself so it doesn't look like I just got done crying." Chloe rubs her eyes in hope to get rid of the puffiness and wipes away the wetness on her cheeks and still, Beca is straight baffled at Chloe's beauty after she gets done crying.

It seriously wasn't even fair.

Beca pulls out her phone first to take the picture- thank god for snapchat and the front flash because it would've been a struggle without it. As she focuses the camera on them, Chloe tilts Beca's chin until they're kissing again and she snaps the picture.

Choosing from this one and the one at dinner, both equally great, Beca decides to upload the drive in picture on Instagram for their first, "official date night."

" _Distance is hard until you finally get to see them in person and everything else magically seems to disappear after that. 2000 miles ain't got nothing on us chloboxo"_

Once everything on the photo is ready to upload, she presses the post button and sees her and Chloe's photo show up on her feed.

She knows she is going to be in for a mouthful come tomorrow morning once her fans start to find out-if they haven't already. But she will worry about that when the time comes. Now, she just wants to enjoy the rest of her night with Chloe with nothing else on her mind.

"Now come here and cuddle with me." Chloe pulls Beca by her waist into her embrace and switches their positions so that Beca is now lying in between her legs.

Beca's heart rate increases drastically and she isn't really sure if it is the amount of closeness between she and Chloe or the creepy, opening credits music playing through the screen's speakers. Either way, she clings onto Chloe's arms that are snug around her waist after tugging the other blanket she brought up to her chin, bracing herself for the show she is about to endure.

"Don't worry baby," Chloe cooes with only minimum amusement and Beca can tell she is teething a pretty impressive grin at her skittish behavior from feeling the rise in her cheeks but can't find it in herself to look back and check without tearing her eyes off the screen. With her luck, something will jump scare her and give her a heart attack. "I'll protect you."

And Beca usually won't show this side of her unless she is with Stacie, wanting to keep her badass image alive, especially with Chloe. But now, with her seeking comfort in Chloe, she feels safe and allows her shield to go down.

And if this whole cuddling thing with Chloe is what she gets in return for watching scary movies, she's not entirely opposed to making this a more frequent thing to do.

 _Just_ as long as she has Chloe.

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 9:12 AM** _

Beca wakes up the next morning feeling on top of the world. She feels invincible and it's almost a too good to be true type of feeling when she logs into her computer and heads straight to the "about you" section on her Facebook page.

Not even a minute later after changing her settings and hitting save, she hears her phone vibrate on the table next to her bed.

_**Sunday September 18, 9:14 AM** _

_C: Oh look at that. Just got a notification about this Beca girl wanting to be in a relationship with me. Weird..._

_C: Should I accept or deny it? ;)_

**B: I think you should confirm it so I can show the rest world how lucky I am**

_C: Hm, tempting ;)_

After refreshing her news feed on Facebook, a new post from her name shows up in bold, dark blue font with both her and Chloe's profile pictures side by side.

**_"Beca Mitchell is now in a relationship with Chloe Beale September 18, 2016"_ **

Beca blinks a few thousand times to make sure what she saw was actually what she is reading and sure enough, that one particular post doesn't seem to fade away.

_C: Am I going to have to shut off my notifications for today now that I'm dating DJ extraordinaire and super sexy Beca Mitchell? ;)_

**B: I'm not going to lie, especially with my phone already starting to go off by the second now, that wouldn't be a bad idea haha**

**B: We can read all the comments people say together :-)**

_C: That sounds like a perfect plan :)_

_C: I can't believe we are dating. How did I get so lucky?_

**B: I don't know Beale but I think we should hit up Vegas soon with the route you're going in ;-)**

_C: As long as I have my girlfriend by my side I'll go anywhere :)_

_C: So this morning I am kinda booked with my online class I have to do :(_

_C: Am I still picking you up for lunch?_

**B: Yes, I just gotta talk to my dad and see what his plans are for today then we should be all good :-)**

_C: Okay cool! Just text me when everything is set :)_

**B: Will do.**

**B: Now get to studyin' nerd :-P**

_C: I will ;)_

_C: I love you!_

**B: I love you too :-)**

Beca doesn't know when the words will ever not punch her in the gut with pure happiness and honestly, she never really wants the feeling to go away. It was just all too surreal and something she wants to never get tired of saying.

Beca accidentally reads a few of the comments that or piling up under her relationship status but in her defense, she hasn't turned of her notifications yet and her eyes just managed to slip and read a few of them.

" _I take it the date went well. You guys are a beautiful couple. Happy for you two."_ This comment is from her dad and she has to remind herself to thank him for his wonderful idea to take Chloe for their first date.

Other things written on Beca's profile are her fans coming in by the second dropping their thoughts in the comments on her newly changed Facebook status.

" _Oh my Goodness you two are too cute!"_

" _Goals! They're the definition of goals!"_

" _Who knew Beca had a thing for redheads?"_

" _So freaking CUTTEE!"_

_"Chloe is super cute!"_

_"Together they're super cute!"_

" _Bechloe guys! I told you it would happen!"_

" _REBECA MITCHELL YOU BETTER CALL ME RIGHT NOW!"_

Wait a second. This comment wasn't from a fan. In fact by the use of her full name, it was from a very angry Stacie Conrad.

And also, why the Hell was she up so early in the first place?

Her phone buzzes in her hand in the matter of seconds before she reads Stacie's name on the screen.

Closing her eyes in preparation of what's about to come, "hello-"

" _When were you going to tell me Chloe and you pulled the DTR card?!"_ Beca doesn't even have the chance to welcome her friend before she starts to get lectured. " _And why was Facebook the first to know before ME?!_

Beca rubs her eyes at the screaming because it's way too early to be talking at this volume. It should be a goddamn crime actually. "Run by me what DTR is?"

" _Define the relationship duh."_ Stacie says dumbly, as if Beca should've already known that.

"God, you and Chloe are like fucking clones with your need to abbreviate  every damn word," she scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Yeah we did. Last night actually."

" _Did you ask her? What happened? How was the date? Did you guys kiss again?"_

The amount of questions are throwing Beca off balance of she being honest. She hasn't even had her morning coffee so all this was a lot too handle. "Well, we see at the drive in watching the movie when all of a sudden she told me that she loved me-"

" _OHMYGOD_." Beca is cut off by a high pitched squeal that causes her to pull the phone away from her ear before she ends up going deaf and gradually returning it back after she's sure Stacie's shrieks are finished. " _Then what happened?!"_

"I told her I loved her too-"

" _BECA!"_ Another piercing squeal is heard through the line and seriously, Beca thinks she can hear a permanent buzz in her ear now, " _it's about damn time! My best friend has a girrrrlllfriend. My best friend has a girlllllllllfriend,"_ Stacie sings in a teasing tone and Beca throws her face into her pillow to hide the embarrassment she feels even through the phone.

"You're just as nauseating in a different state as you are in person," Beca grumbles out into her pillow and saying this only causes Stacie to laugh harder, which then turns into an obnoxious cackle. "Why are you up so early anyways? And being more annoying than you usually are?"

" _Sorry for being excited that my friend is tied down after all these years. Are you sure you even know what sex is?"_ Beca's thumb twitches as she is tempted to hang up on Stacie if she continues with this, " _and to answer your question, I just got home like….. an hour ago."_

"Are you drunk?"

" _No I'm not. Maybe I have a buzz but nothing bad. My uber driver though that took Amy and I home was a total hunk and I decided to have a little fun with him before he dropped me off."_

"You're ridiculous." Beca shakes her head laughing and tosses the pillow down next to her.

" _And you're lucky I don't fly down there and kick your tiny ass for letting me know about you and Chloe after Facebook does!"_

"I thought you would be sleeping not hooking up with some uber dude! You know you're the first to know everything Stace."

" _Damn should be,"_ Stacie scoffs. " _I can't wait to see you tomorrow though. I've missed you way too much and need my Beca fix."_

"I miss you too dork."

This is true. Beca misses Stacie a lot and can't wait to be with her comes tomorrow afternoon; she's her best friend. But the thought of leaving Chloe here kills her.

Worst of all, they'd have to go back to talking online or through messages and though Beca loves talking to Chloe any chance she gets-whether through Skype, on the phone or texting, she'd much rather prefer a conversation face to face.

She just wishes things could be easier for the both of them.

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 9:54 AM** _

Beca tries her hardest not to show how bummed she is that today is her last day in Georgia, and while Chloe is busy doing school work, the amount of time she has to spend for her last day is dwindling down quicker than Beca can even grasp.

And quite frankly, she'd love to spend every second of her remaining day in Atlanta with Chloe but knows that isn't possible.

She also doesn't want to be a buzz kill around her dad and Shelia since for them as well, it is their last day to hang out with her before she is back in California. So, she puts on her best attempt at a fake smile before heading into the kitchen for lunch and joins her father in the kitchen.

"Hey dad," Beca greets through a post sleep yawn.

Her dad tears his gaze off the newspaper in his hands and offers Beca a stretching smile, "hey you." He sets the newspaper off to the side. "How was your date last night?"

Once Beca sees that her dad made some coffee and pours herself a cup, she joins him at the table. "It was good. I ended up falling asleep midway through The Conjuring 2, not that I cared because it was fucking creepy as shit and if I watched it any longer, I'd for sure have some fucked up dreams."

Her dad chuckles, "you were never a big fan of scary movies."

"Nope. I try to stay far away from those but Chloe loves them so let's see how that goes."

"Speaking of Chloe, how are you two doing lately?" her dad starts with a smile and Beca already feels the fluttering in her stomach.

"We are kinda sorta….dating and stuff," Beca says casually with a shrug, the giddiness running through her veins kept tamed for now.

Her dad gave her an earnest smile when Beca's failed attempts to keep the fluttering at the minimum made her blush shyly. "Good for you guys. Like I said, you two make a lovely couple."

Beca swoons at the new label. She still can't wrap her head around the fact she and Chloe are now an item. "Thanks dad. I love her," Beca didn't actually mean to say this out loud. She was more just thinking about it in her head but ended up slipping via word vomit.

She just hopes he doesn't think she is crazy for already popping out the "L" word a month into knowing the girl.

"You think I didn't already see that?" her dad snickers, taking a drink out of his own coffee mug. "Whenever you talk about Chloe, you smile the entire time and when you aren't talking about Chloe, I know sure as hell you are thinking about the girl as you sport the same cheesy grin on your face. If that doesn't scream love I don't know what the Hell does."

"Why don't you stay with her tonight?" her dad suggests and Beca is taken back by this at first. "Enjoy your last day here with your girlfriend." He doesn't seem upset or bothered.

"But…" Beca starts but finds herself at a loss for words. "What about you?"

"Oh come on Becs. I can tell you'd rather be spending your last day with her than me," he laughs so Beca knows he isn't truly upset with her wanting to spend time with Chloe. "Aren't you sick of me yet? I know I would be if I had to spend two days with my pops." Beca manages to snicker a little bit, just picturing three days with her grandpa. She loved him but boy, was he a hoot and a half. "I loved being able to spend time with you and I hope this isn't just a one time thing but enough is enough for a weekend."

"You sure? We planned on eating lunch and hanging out for a bit but we can do dinner or something."

"No," Her dad firmly declines. "Go hang out with your girl."

Beca's body light up at the thought of hanging out with her girlfriend all day long. She just had to find a way to casually bring it up without it making it seem like she's inviting herself.

"Thanks dad." Beca gets up from the chair to put her mug in the sink before exiting the kitchen.

"There is one condition kiddo," Beca almost makes it out until her dad reels her back in. He continues when Beca is back leaning on the door frame and he is doing that weird thing with his eyebrows again that Beca knows is up to no good. "I get to meet her."

Beca throws her head back with a whine. A real life, child's whine. She knew he wanted to meet Chloe from the first day he saw her dropping Beca off but come on. This is two days later and Beca doesn't even know if Chloe would be comfortable meeting her father so early on. She really didn't need to scare Chloe away for good by asking her to meet her family all of a sudden.

For Christ sakes, they just made it official like, two hours ago.

"That is if she wants Becs." Her dad's features on his face morphs into more of a serious demeanor rather than teasing once he sees the flash of panic in Beca's eyes. "I'm not rushing to meet her if she's not ready. I just want to meet the girl that has my daughter acting like a goof all the time."

Beca smiles because duh. It is so true. Getting to know Chloe has brought out the more happy side of Beca instead of her usual closed off, grumpy side her dad was most familiar with. All this smiling she is doing is probably shocking and eye opening for him.

At least it would only be her dad meeting Chloe. Not Shelia there too. Her step mom isn't as bad as Beca judged her by but she also, Beca's pretty sure, doesn't even know that she is bisexual-unless Sheila has been on Facebook lately, which Beca thinks she hasn't. So avoiding that whole coming out thing (again) would have to wait until another time when Beca isn't only in Georgia for three days.

"I'll run it by her." Her dad's face lights up at the possibility of meeting Chloe and Beca's heart is just pumping with so many emotions at the same time that's it's almost a little overwhelming.

Chloe meeting her dad isn't something Beca is too worried about. Of course he's going to like Chloe-scratch that, _love_ Chloe because really, who wouldn't?

The thing she is worried about is how Chloe's going to react with Beca already dropping the family bomb on her and they haven't even been dating a full day. Part of Beca doesn't even think Chloe will react much to this suggestion, calming that she is friendly and open to meet literally almost _anybody_ with a face and two arms.

Welp, there's only one way to find out.

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 12:30 PM** _

Beca uses this time alone to start working on a few beat mixes for the album so she can show Diplo once they get into the studio Tuesday morning. This weekend was quite enjoyable not having to stress about getting her school work done or constantly on the phone with Diplo's manager to talk hours just spit balling ideas for the new album.

She got to chill, listening to past albums of his again and a lot of other DJs to get a feel for the right taste in the EDM world. It's way different from picking two songs and blending them together on a hundred dollar program through her computer but it's also exciting and new that she gets to come up with creative ideas on her own without building from another artist's.

Of course she knows that once she gets back to LA, things are going to take off like a rocket ship and her life will become just one big ball of chaotic nonsense. But Beca knew this was going to be the whole package deal when signing on to all of this when she first wanted to become a producer.

Don't get her wrong, she's stoked to get things started but part of her-majority- is nervous that she'll end up fucking something up like she usually does.

Happy thoughts Beca.

 _Positive_ thoughts.

Speaking of happy thoughts, Beca feels her phone vibrate next to her on the bed and smiles when she see Chloe's name. Removing her earphones off her head to wrap around her neck, she smiles into the phone when she balances the device between her ear and shoulder.

"Hey you." She moves her laptop off her lap to the side and brings her knees up to her chest.

" _Hey! What are you doing?"_ Chloe's voice already makes Beca's heart feel like it's running a marathon with how fast it's thumps. It's only been three hours and she already missed that sweet, bubbly voice.

"I'm just hanging out, coming up with some new beats for the album so I can run them by Diplo when I get back to work."

" _Oh that's exciting! I can't wait to hear what you are coming up with!"_ Chloe's voice says it all and Beca blushes into the speaker, something Chloe always seems to make her do nowadays. " _So I just finished all my classes and assignments online so I have the rest of the day to kill. Are you ready to go to lunch?"_

Okay, here's part one of this process, "yeah about that..." Beca starts, awkwardly fumbling around with the cord to her headphones. "So this is kind of weird to ask since it's _your_ house and all, but I'm pretty sure my dad is kicking me out of his house to go hang out with you."

" _What are you saying?"_ Chloe's voice hints suspicion mixed with a little bit of amusement.

Beca gulps down the forming knot in her throat nervously. "I was wondering if maybe I could crash at your place tonight and maybe, if you want, take me to the airport tomorrow afternoon?" Why was Beca so nervous all of a sudden? This is her girlfriend for crying out loud and it's normal to be asking this stuff. "It's totally….cool if like, you don't want to do that or whatever."

" _Beca are you crazy? Of course you can stay over silly! I'd want nothing more than to spend your last day here with you."_

"Are you sure?"

" _Yes Beca. A thousand times yes!"_ Chloe basically shirked into the phone. " _Aubrey has been gone all weekend at clinicals so it's a little lonely here. Plus, I want all the time I can get with you before LA steals you away from me."_

Well, at least that part is done and over with, "alright cool. I was thinking we can get some stuff from the store and make dinner for tonight. Just like I promised."

" _Yay!"_ Chloe's excitement is making Beca's body buzz with the same amount. This girl is just straight _impossible_ sometimes. " _Yes that sounds awesome! I can pick you up from your dad's house and we can go to the store straight from there."_

"Sounds good," Beca shakes her head with a laugh at Chloe's excitement but quickly remembers a certain proposal from her father. Now it's time for the big guns. "So I was wondering..." Beca drags out, her palms are sweaty and she can feel her heartbeat boom in her throat.

" _Yes?"_

Taking a deep breath, "my dad wants to meet you but I totally understand if you aren't comfortable with meeting him yet and he understands too but he really just wants to meet you and I told him it's a fast demand to ask but he's still bent on it. I totally understand if you don't want to do that and he will understand too." Beca rushes out through a single breath that leaves her panting after she's done.

There's a pause of torturing silence that's eating Beca alive by the bones and she's about to tell Chloe to forget everything she just said until Chloe speaks up again, " _I would love to meet your dad Becs!"_ Beca listens very carefully for any hesitation or uneasiness in Chloe's tone but finding none, she feels her body start to relax, relieved that she didn't run for the hills at the mention of meeting her dad. " _I mean, it makes sense since I'll be there anyways and plus, I want to."_

Beca is glad Chloe isn't around because she is smiling way too big for comfort and it's to the point where her cheeks are starting to sting. "Okay cool. I'm sure he's going to be bouncing off the walls when he finds this out. Hasn't even met you and already he's your biggest fan."

Chloe snorts a laugh. "We all know _you're_ my _biggest fan."_

Beca shrugs even though Chloe clearly can't see. "Very true."

" _Well are you ready now?"_

"For the most part yeah. I just need to pack my bathroom stuff and make sure I have everything but other than that, I'm good to go."

" _Okay!"_ Chloe chirps and Beca can hear the sound of her truck beeping in the background when she opens the door. " _I'll come now then!"_

"Sounds good. Just send me a text and I'll come out."

" _Okay I'll be there soon!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's POV next chap :)


	11. New Goodbyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the last long chapter you'll get for a while since, by the title, Beca is leaving back to LA. But don't worry! These lovebirds can't stay away from each other for long without losing their minds ;)

_**Sunday September 18, 12:35 PM** _

The drive over to Beca's house is more than a little bit nerve racking once Chloe got off the phone and had the chance to process everything. Her deathly grip on the steering wheel is on the verge of breaking through the material, there's a constant ringing in her ears that's making her want to rip her hair out by the scalp; she can can feel her heartbeat throb against her throat and stomach feels like it's going to drop out her butt.

Chloe doesn't get nervous often, actually, it's quite rare for her to show this kind of behavior and it's starting to scare her by the second with this unknown feeling that has her skin sweating beads out from her pores. Excitement is more her thing.

But meeting Beca's dad-her _girlfriend's_ dad, for the very first time is enough to tweak her out a bit, not that she showed that on the phone when talking to Beca, of course.

She didn't want Beca to think that she was moving too fast with wanting Chloe to meet her father because by her tone on the phone, it already seemed like Beca was uneasy about asking her in the first place. Technically, it's her dad wanting to meet Chloe. Not Beca.

So, she didn't want her to feel anymore ify than she already was.

Honestly, Chloe's honored to meet him, and honored that Beca wants her to meet him but, she wasn't expecting to meet him so soon. She thought she'd at least be able to have a couple months to prepare for this situation instead of the thirty minute drive to get over there. You know, sleep on it kind of deal.

If that was the case with added time, maybe it wouldn't seem like she is seconds away from passing out cold on the dashboard.

But it's not.

Her phone rings through the speakers, scaring her half to death by the level of jumpiness and it signals a few unread text messages she just received. Through her screen on the dash, she opens each one and sees they're all from Aubrey.

_**Sunday September 18, 12:43 PM** _

**Aubrey: Okay, just scrolling through Facebook and saw some pretty interesting stuff.**

**Aubrey: I can't believe you! My best friend, didn't tell me you and Beca are dating! I'm actually quite offended that Facebook beat me out.**

**Aubrey: And Jesus Chloe. Have you checked the comments, likes and followers you now have? It's seriously insane how much attention her fans are giving you once you started dating her.**

Her truck reads these messages out loud through the Bluetooth connecting the phone and she facepalms herself that she managed to forget running the news by Aubrey. In her defense, Beca changed their relationship status on Facebook first so, it isn't like she she had time to prepare before it showed up on her feed.

It took her blindsided if she's being honest so really, Aubrey can't be too mad at her. Also, she had piles on top of piles of homework and lesson plans to complete, leaving her with zero time in between this morning when she woke up to Beca's surprise phone call.

Figuring that she can't text back right now, she dials Aubrey's number through the call back option on her truck's screen and turns up the volume in order to hear clearly.

After ringing a few times, Chloe impatiently drumming her thumbs against the wheel,

" _Aubrey Posen."_

"Bree!" Chloe basically screams when she hears Aubrey's signature, old person's greeting. It's the twenty first century. There's things now such as caller ID so why Aubrey felt the need to greet every person the same as if she's hosting a business call, Chloe will never truly understand.

" _Chloe? You have some serious explaining to do!"_ Chloe can feel the transformation of Aubrey's voice switch from professional to irritated very quickly and if any other time, she'd be pretty scared of the wrath she's destined for. But right now, she is still freaking out about being fifteen minutes away from Beca's house where she is going to meet her dad, according to her GPS system, and needs Aubrey's help pronto.

So what better way than to come out and spill?

"I'm meeting Beca's dad right now!"

" _Y-you-you're what?"_ Aubrey stutters, surprised. " _Did you say Beca's dad?"_

"Yes Bree! I'm meeting her dad and then, she's spending the night at our house! What do I do?! Where are you?! Why aren't you here right now?!" Chloe swears she is seconds away from hyperventilating with the size boulder that feels like is pushed against her chest, making it impossible to breathe.

And she is keenly aware that she swerving in and out of lanes on the highway and that she should be slowing down in speed if she doesn't want to get pulled over.

You'd think that with her being so nervous about meeting Beca's dad, she'd be in less of a rush to get there and not be speeding down the freeway like she just got done robbing a bank.

" _Okay, slow down Chlo. This is a good sign. Meeting her parents means she's serious about this…..relationship."_ Chloe thinks this is unnecessary. Yes, she has thought a lot about what Beca is taking out of their interaction through the Internet. Especially with her rising fame and all. Like for example, is she just someone to talk to when Beca gets lonely, or is she just one of many other fan girls Beca is talking to?

Of course, this didn't help with the constant reminder from Aubrey that Beca not only lives on the other side of the country but also, is working with celebrities and is basically famous in and out of the states.

Now though, with Beca flying down to Georgia, taking her on an unforgettable date and asking Chloe to be her girlfriend, she had nothing really to worry about anymore.

No doubts, no ringing worries about who Beca was with when she issn't texting Chloe. No giant question mark in the way of their label as friends, acquaintances, girlfriends, or whatever.

For Christ sakes, they have already shared the "L" word between each other and if that doesn't scream commitment, she doesn't know what does. When talking to Aubrey though, she decides to leave that out for another time, knowing Aubrey will give her an earful when she finds that out.

"I'm on my way now and I feel like I'm going to throw up."

" _Looks like the tables have turned and you're the one about to do the stress puking,"_ Aubrey chuckles and Chloe groans at the lack of help her friend is being right now. " _Okay, sorry. Bad time to joke."_

Scoffing, "you think? Don't mind me. Just having a full on panic attack, operating a motorized vehicle that's holding my fragile, precious life Bree!"

" _Okay, tone the dramatics down a notch."_

"I **really** like her Bree, obviously. She's my freaking girlfriend now!" Chloe about screeches this and her tone seems to be only getting higher and higher. "What if my handshake is too weak and sweaty and her dad thinks I'm a pansy or something. Or I have bad breath?" There is endless possibilities and the longer she thinks about them, the more freaked out she gets, and the faster her heart pounds against her rib cage.

" _Chloe hun, listen to me. Things are going to be okay. Beca's dad is going to love you, just like everyone else who's lucky enough to get the chance to meet you. You're one of a kind and have absolutely nothing to worry about."_

Chloe is beginning to sober thanks to Aubrey's reassuring words, and feels her breathing start to slow down to a normal and less frightening pace.

" _You've met many of your partner's parents. Why are you just now freaking out about Beca's?"_

Chloe exhales a hitchy breath and runs a hand through her hair in hopes to calm her down. She didn't even know where to start by answering this question. Just like Aubrey said, she has meet many parents, dads, moms, sisters, brothers, practically whoever it was when it came to her past relationships. High school Paul actually, her first _real_ boyfriend, she meet his entire family tree it felt like and never once did she have a break down quite like the one she is having right now.

"I know it's early to say this but Bree, what I see with Beca, I see going far."

" _What? Like marriage?"_ Aubrey questions and Chloe is glad that this is only a phone call and Aubrey isn't able to see the physical damage the single word had over her. " _Jesus Chloe, you two just met over the Internet a month ago!"_

Chloe winces at her tone, "calm down! I'm not saying it's going to be happening anytime soon. Hell, it could take years for the question to be popped….hopefully we are still talking by then." She reaches out to knock on the dashboard of her truck, crossing her fingers that there is wood somewhere inside so she doesn't jinx herself. "But what I mean to say is that I have a hunch that this is the real deal Bree. Beca is someone worth settling down with and I won't be able to do that if her dad hates my guts!"

" _Chloe, like I said before and I'll tell you again until you understand, you have nothing to worry about. You're a people person and everyone you eventually meet ends up loving you or_ _ **falling**_ _in love with you. Beca's dad isn't going to be the one to break that streak."_

Chloe takes a much needed breath, exhaling all the pent up tension out through her mouth. "You think so?"

Aubrey scoffs, " _I know so. You're pretty freaking great Chloe and if for some bizarre, unusual reason Beca's dad doesn't like you, I'm almost certain that won't get in the way of Beca and your relationship. I know I've only meet the girl once but within those short hours during lunch, I can tell the midget is head over heels for you."_

Chloe is swooning now, unable to shake the face splitting grin from her face and happy her friend isn't here in person to witness the amount of sap radiating from her body. Aubrey can read people's personalities like it's her job to do so. She's practically fluent in knowing who's an asshole and who isn't so with her reading these things about Beca made Chloe's heart swell that Aubrey saw the affection there also.

"Thanks, Bree. I needed that," Chloe chuckles and her grip around her wheel loosens while her foot lifts off the accelerator to a more legal spe _ed._

" _You know I'm always here to help you through a panic attack, Chlo. You've helped me way too many times with those in the past so it's about time I do my part."_

"My hero." Chloe cooes and they both laugh.

" _How much longer till you get to Sandy Hills?"_

Chloe swiped through the tabs on her truck's screen until she lands on the GPS map and checks the remaining time up in the corner. "Uh, about fifteen minutes. Surprisingly, there's zero traffic out."

Aubrey hums but doesn't say anything.

"What?"

" _Just taking a seat because you missy have a lot to tell me."_ Chloe rolls her eyes, should've been prepared not to get a free pass out. " _Start with your date last night. "_

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 1:01 PM** _

Chloe pulls up to her destination, spotting Beca's dad's familiar truck parked outside on the driveway and parking on the opposite side of the street. The neighborhood is ghastly empty, other than the few old couples that were out, taking an afternoon stroll or the individuals walking their dogs along the sidewalks. There's a window that's cracked, the blinds are wide open at the top of the house and Chloe wonders if that's the room Beca is staying in.

The thought of Beca instantly warms her blood since this would be the very first time she can greet Beca with one of those, 'miss you kisses' and officially call her her girlfriend. That alone boosts some urgency in Chloe but the reminder that she is also meeting an added person kind of kills that buzz for her and again, she is freaking out about it.

This time though, only on the inside, which is progress if you ask her.

She thinks about texting Beca and asking her if she wants a coffee from Starbucks or something, giving her some time to stall and regroup with herself since always, there's an outrageous line at the drive through and will at least take a good amount of time to get the coffees. She discards that option when she realizes the longer she waits, the more her brain is going to overthink everything and with more overthinking there's a slight chance she might pass out.

This needs to be done.

Finding the courage, she hops out of her truck onto the cement and fixes her jean shorts that rode up uncomfortably during the ride. "Okay Chloe, you can do this. Just be your….charming, bubbly self and everything should go swell." Chloe pep talks herself, fanning out her clammy hands the whole way up the driveway until she makes it to the front door in case Beca's dad is more of a handshaker rather than a hugger like most of her family is.

The doorbell is at lines sight when she is face to face with the glass screen door and Chloe thinks she stares at the gold border and white button for what feels like an eternity. Closing her eyes as she exhales a shaky breath, she lifts a finger to press in the button.

A fancy chime rings through the entire house; one of those bells that last about ten seconds before it's finished and the anticipation is eating Chloe whole as she waits on the heels of her flip flops with her arms awkwardly swinging against the sides of her legs. She's hoping that Beca answers the door first since seeing her face will calm Chloe down a bit before meeting her dad.

But all that hope starts to fade when the screen door swings wide open and she is greeted by an older looking man who is smiling brightly at her.

He's wearing a nice button up shirt with a pair of blue, Levi jeans and a pair of glasses at the bridge of his nose. His outfit is the ideal, professor get up as she remembers Beca mentioning briefly that he teaches at Ottawa University. There's a yellowish/brown stain at the corner of his shirt and Chloe assumes it's from his coffee. He isn't nearly as tall as Chloe imagined he would be but then again, she thinks about Beca's height and it all starts to makes sense.

All other things she studies is a clear identifier that he is in fact Beca's dad, especially the dark blue eyes and short, brown hair that still looks pretty damn impressive in color with his age. Unlike his hair, he has a beard and the hairs covering around his mouth are the only ones fading to a light grey.

"You must be Chloe." She barely hears him speak under the monstrous throbs of her heartbeat booming between her ears and it wasn't until he held out his hand for her to shake that she broke out of her frozen state.

Chloe should've known he wasn't going to be much of a hugger after getting to know Beca and how she avoids physical contact like it's the plague- even though now, Beca seemed to be a lot more touchy with Chloe during their date compared to when they first met at the airport.

Not that she is complaining about it.

Chloe reaches out her hand, already feeling the moistness rise from her palm but not able to do anything about it before it's grabbed by Beca's dad. "That's me," even under all her swimming nerves, she still manages to smile her signature charming grin. "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Mitchell."

"Oh God no," he scoffs a chuckle, releasing Chloe's hand. "I hear enough of that with my students. Please, call me Warren."

Chloe praises herself unnoticed at the first name basis already and gradually, her tenseness starts to deflate. He invites her inside and she happily creeps in when he moves over to the side, granting more space. The inside of the house is just as nice as the doorbell made it seem and as she examines around the space, her eyes land on a bookshelf of pictures that features a very adorable and very cute brunette, varying from all ages.

Chloe giggles at all the childhood photos of Beca, noticing that even at a young age, she still had a scowl that could kill and was as grumpy as the cookie monster. A lot of them seemed like candid shots, with her paying close attention to something else other than the camera. There's a group of fancy family photos of Warren and another lady that looked identical to Beca, with her piercing, dark blue eyes and long chocolate brown hair. The woman is absolutely breathtaking.

She takes it that this is her actual birth mother and not step when she studies that Beca's age can't be no older than six or seven. The pigtails were a clear identifier as now, Chloe is sure Beca wouldn't be caught dead with a cute hairstyle like that.

One photo catches her eye; Beca standing in a dark blue graduation gown, wearing a bleach white summer dress underneath with a pair of wooden wedges and is surprised to see Stacie with her arm hanging right over her shoulders. The smiles are so big they almost look photoshopped, especially the one coming from Beca but nonetheless, they're contagious and Chloe finds herself mirroring the captured grins.

"Beca is upstairs getting her stuff ready, in case you're wondering," Warren smiles, breaking Chloe out of her admiration towards the photos. She would've been reacting a little differently to this if it isn't for the the safe aroma Beca's dad is bringing, terrified that she might end up saying something embarrassing to screw this whole thing up.

But Warren seems nice and Chloe is already feeling more and more comfortable around him by the second.

"Would you like anything to drink? Sheila just made some delicious sweet tea, I could get you a glass?"

Chloe isn't really thirsty, so to say, but declining the offer isn't something she is about to do. So, she nods her head with a smile and watches him head into the kitchen to retrieve the drinks.

Having enough of looking at the bookshelf of photos, Chloe finds the living room nearby and a comfy couch calling her name across the room. She takes a seat, her body sinking into the leather that is oh so much more comfier than what it looks like and tries to find a less awkward position to sit at. She crosses one leg over the other and patiently waits for Warren to return.

As she is waiting, she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. Texting should be the last thing Chloe should be doing right now but when she sees Beca's name light up on her screen, her thumbs move to open the conversation on instinct.

_**Sunday September 18, 1:12 PM** _

**B: Please tell me you'll still here by the time I get downstairs…**

**B: I hope he didn't end up scaring you away :-(**

_C: Of course I'm still here! I wouldn't leave without you ;)_

_C: Your dad is enjoyable company and is in no way scaring me away :)_

_C: But hurry up and pack so you can get your cute butt down here! I wanna see you :)_

**B: Not cute Beale.**

**B: But okay, I'm almost finished.**

With perfect timing, Warren finds Chloe sitting in the living room. "Here you go."

Chloe stuffs her phone back into her pocket after clicking it off and Warren has his hands occupied with two glasses filled with sweet tea. He hands one over to Chloe who tells him thank you before taking a seat directly across from her in the loveseat.

"So," he starts, taking a drink and smiling at Chloe. "Beca tells me you're a pretty superb teacher."

Chloe hides the violent fluttering in her stomach as she realizes that Beca has been talking an awful lot about her behind the phone text messages and phone calls with her dad and washes down the giddiness with a small sip of tea.

She swallows the drink before moving her glass to join Warren's on the table. "I mean, not yet," she shrugs humble. "I'm still working on getting my masters and only doing student teaching at an elementary school close by my house but when I do, I'm going to find a stable job. Fingers crossed that I can graduate in the Fall."

"Well, with what Beca tells me it sounds like you really know what you're doing and any school would be lucky to have you."

Chloe lowers her head when she feels the heat rush to her cheeks and is a hundred percent certain that she is starting to blush. At least now she knows where Beca gets her sweet talk from.

They fall into casual conversation with each other; Chloe talks a lot about school, and her hometown back down in Florida. She tells Warren that her family and her are a very close knit group, along with her two older brothers, who are away and living the adult life. Whenever she gets the chance and is free from school, she calls or Facetimes them to catch up on life.

She also briefly mentions Aubrey when Warren is curious to who her roommate is and gloats about her being Chloe's best friend for years and what she plans on doing with her education.

Then they switch directions and Warren tells Chloe a little bit about Beca's real mom and how she was the one always supporting Beca's music when he wasn't and that, is something he regrets the most. In less of a depressing subject, he talks about Sheila and gives Chloe a little insight on the teacher ways when scoping out the right schools from the wrong.

Chloe honestly doesn't understand why she was so nervous about meeting Beca's dad because so far, it is a pretty laid back interaction and the guy is not only intelligent but also a lot of fun to talk to. There wasn't any questions revolving around their new relationship, and the infamous question on what her intentions are when dating Beca hasn't been mentioned or even hinted.

"So, I'm informed that you're dating my daughter."

Welp. She spoke too soon.

"Uh, yeah," Chloe chuckles nervously and runs a hand through her hair, prepared for any of the follow up questions he has.

"Beca told me briefly about how you two met. Through social media right?" Chloe nods and studies for any signs that points to to any uneasiness he has with that fact they met through the Internet but ends up finding none. That's a relief. "I have to say, it's a sight for sore eyes seeing Beca so glowy and you being the one behind all the goofy grins and lack of concentration," he laughs. "I haven't meet any of Beca's past partners but I can see that you're good for her."

"She's good for me too." With the new pain in her cheeks, Chloe is positive that she is smiling so wide it could become permanent.

And that's saying something because she is _always_ smiling.

Footsteps are heard coming down from the stairs in the hallway and it wasn't much longer of a wait till Beca is in full sight, sporting a suspicious smirk and holding a duffel bag in place that hangs over her shoulder. Chloe bites her lip with excitement, the first time she's seen her girlfriend since last night and it's hard to keep it under the covers as she stares at the brunette standing in the doorway.

She tries hard not to make her stare obvious but then again, she can't help herself because Beca is wearing a pair of denim, jean shorts, a pair of white and black vans to match a loose, unbuttoned flannel over a low cut, black tank top and it's really hard not to drool over this sight.

Adding to this, the outfit is also something new for Chloe since it's far less clothing than what Beca has been wearing the past two days.

Not that she is complaining because _damn_. The view of new skin is extremely nice on Chloe's part and she gives a silent shout out to Georgia's heat wave for blessing them with shorts weather.

"What are you two talking about?" Beca sets her bag by the door before joining everyone in the living room.

"Just talking about you." Chloe thinks she hears Warren answer but isn't sure because all her attention is on Beca, who walks over to where she is sitting and practically takes a seat in her lap despite the other obvious amount of empty space on the couch to chose from

With the closeness of Beca, what also takes Chloe by surprise is the hand that wraps behind her lower back to rest at her hip, bringing her in closer to Beca so the bare skin on their legs stick together.

"All good things I hope."

Thinking that Beca would remove her hand when Warren is caught looking at the couple from where he is sitting, she is shocked that Beca not only keeps her hand securely where it is at but also, leans in to drop a lingering kiss over her cheek.

"Hey beautiful." Beca cooes after leaning back on the couch, the area where her lips were burning through Chloe's skin like acid.

She really hopes that the way her body is reacting to the compliment is going unnoticed. She doesn't know when the dizziness after every cute thing Beca says, or the flutters after every time she kisses her will go away but starting right now, Chloe is making a goal to stop letting it affect her.

"I missed you."

It takes a while for Chloe to process that Beca is in fact talking to her as she is hypnotized by the different shades of blue mixed in high definition within her eyes thanks to the sun's light shining directly in them from the window. She also knows that her eyes are blue-trust her, she gets many compliments on them daily, but there's something about Beca's that intrigues her and makes her weak. She has to divert her eyes away after a while before she ends up getting lost in them for good.

Clearing her throat as cover up, "hey," she smiles. "I missed you too."

"Did you have a good day?" Beca asks genuinely curious and her other hand finds Chloe's sitting on her lap before lacing their fingers together on the back of her hand.

Chloe's body feels like butter melting on a scorching pan at the hand holding as well as the hand still wrapped around her waist and the added curiosity to know about her day only makes the fluttering in her stomach worse.

"I am now." _Smooth_.

"You two are cute," Warren comments with a warm smile and Chloe forgets there's another person in the room.

Beca rolls her eyes and stands up from the couch, offering a helping hand to Chloe. "And also, leaving."

Taking the hand, Chloe sits up and follows Beca to the door where her bag sits.

"Sorry to cut this short but we have a lot to do today," Beca says, grabbing her bag off the ground.

"No it's okay. Chloe and I got to know a lot about each other."

"Is that so?" Beca quirks an eyebrow, looking at Chloe who backs it up with a nod.

"Yep! He even started showing me the cute baby videos of you." Chloe tries hiding a smile but fails miserably when the look of pure fear washes over Beca's face.

"He did not!" Beca gasps, eyes stretched wide towards her dad and Chloe can already feel the embarrassment oozing off Beca's body as Warren is a bullseye on a target board, just waiting to be practiced on.

"Chloe, are you trying to get me killed here?" Warren chuckles, pointing at Beca's glare. "No, I didn't show her the baby videos," he clarifies. " But there's always next time."

The thought of there being a next time almost kills Chloe because that's totally a hidden way around saying he'd like to see her again. Points added in her book and something more to cross off her list because ladies and gents, Warren Mitchell _likes_ her!

Now she has nothing to worry about.

"Yeah for sure. Maybe Sheila will be here and we could all go to dinner or something. Make it a little longer than twenty minutes," Beca suggests with a smile.

Someone needs to get Chloe out of this house pronto before she melts to goo at Beca's informal invitation to have dinner with her whole family. Just the thought makes her insides jittery and it's not even set in stone yet.

They all say their goodbyes and Warren walks them out the door and Beca takes her hand, leading her over to where she is parked hand in hand.

In the truck after Chloe tosses Beca's duffle bag in the bed, she turns the keys in the ignition, roaring the engine to life as Beca hops up through the passenger side. Across the street, Warren waves goodbye once more before closing the door and it leaves her to watch Beca rearrange comfortably in the seat.

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be." Beca says, throwing the backpack with her laptop in the backseat. Completely missing the intense bore of Chloe's eyes directly into the side of her head, she continues, "where are we headed to….. _mmph_!"

Chloe swallows the squeak of pure surprise as she assumes Beca wasn't expecting this random movement when connecting her lips desperately into Beca's, silencing what she was about to say with a passionate kiss. Once adjusted to the warmth, Beca's lips fall in sync with Chloe's and her hands lift to tangle a fistful of red hair that happens to be hovering over the armrest of the truck.

Half in her seat, half in Beca's, she presses her lips in closer and hooks a hand around Beca's neck for support. Hungry for more, Chloe darts her tongue into Beca's mouth and sighs heavily when Beca fights against her. In a swift motion, which also ends up shocking Chloe at the bold move, she nips teasingly at Beca's bottom lip and quickly swipes her tongue to massage the area. This only earns a low grunt from Beca as their tongues twist and knot against each other until the kiss is on the verge of becoming sloppy.

Pulling away from the kiss but not too far, eyes barely floating open to see Chloe already staring back at her, "mm, what was that for?" Beca says with a growing smirk.

By the deepness of her voice, it triggers something uncontrollable inside of Chloe, pushing her to lean right back in again to steal a few more kisses, this time for not nearly as long and far less aggressive, before she is breaking away winded.

Chloe chuckle is low and comes out mostly as an exhale. "I just missed you and all," she whispers, still trying to catch her breath. "Also, I'm running off of pure adrenaline at the realization that I just met your freaking dad," and then she rests her forehead against Beca's, trying not to burst with excitement.

The puff of air from Beca's laugh spreads across her lips and her breath smells like Spearmint toothpaste. It tastes like it too. "And he likes you already, not that I'm surprised." Beca brushes her thumb along the structure of Chloe's jaw; something she just can't seem to get enough of.

Chloe leans back into her seat to give Beca her space once the sharp pain of the armrest jabbing into her ribcage becomes unbearable and her elbows are cramping from keeping her up at an angle.

"I could get use to being greeted like that more often." Beca shoots her a wink before pulling the seat belt down across her torso, clicking it into the buckle.

"Me too." Chloe smiles despite her post kiss daze and does the same with her seatbelt. "What were you saying before I interrupted you?"

"Oh nothing. I was just asking where we were going to next."

Chloe shifts the truck into drive before pulling away from the house and back onto the street. "I was thinking we could go out to lunch, like we planned, and then after, we could run by the grocery store, pick up some food supplies for dinner?"

Becs nods her head, smiling, "that sounds like a great plan. I'm starving." She pats her stomach. "I was busy all morning working with a few of Diplo's tracks so I didn't get the chance to eat."

Chloe's body lights up. "Lucky for you, I have the best place to go! I hope you like hot dogs."

Beca scoffs at this, "like? More like _love_ hot dogs. They're just too good."

"Good! There's a food truck that sells the best hot dogs in the city and next to them is an ice cream truck."

"Oh no! Not _ice cream_!" Beca grabs at her chest dramatically, her cute side making a pleasant appearance Chloe admires.

An incoming call rings through Chloe's truck and when she looks down over at the screen, her mom's name pops up. Chloe raises a finger up to Beca when she accepts the call, letting her know that probably won't take too long and wonders why her mom is calling randomly in the middle of the day without the heads up.

"Hey mom."

" _Chloe Anne! When were you going to tell me Beca and you are dating?"_ Her mother's offended voice blares through the speakers, causing Beca to cover her mouth from laughing. She mouths a "Anne?" And Chloe shrugs her shoulders that her middle name is now something Beca knows about her, annoyed that she'll probably end up teasing about it later.

She regrets even answering the call since she totally forgot to switch her phone's audio settings off the Bluetooth in her truck after talking to Aubrey and now, doesn't know where her phone is to have a private conversation with her mom.

She just hopes that her mom doesn't say anything too embarrassing since Beca can hear literally _everything_ they are saying.

" _Your dad wants to know as well!"_

"I was going to call you guys but I was busy all morning doing my online classes and homework." Chloe lies. Honestly, she kind of forgot about her parents back home. Not in the bad way though. She just…her mind has been a little too preoccupied with Beca lately, not that she cared.

" _Oh that's right."_ Chloe's mom seems to ease up when hearing this. " _Well now that you're done, I think it's safe for me to say you picked a real good one Chloe."_

"I know I did." When Chloe looks over at Beca, she can see a slight blush around her cheeks and is chewing on her bottom lip to prevent a smile from bursting through at the compliment.

" _You also picked a pretty hot one as well Chlo. You know I'm as straight as an arrow but if girls that looked like Beca went to my college back in the day, I think I would've made an exception because…...phew."_ Chloe can picture her mom fanning herself with a hand and her face instantly turns red in embarrassment, knowing the girl being spoken about by her mom heard the whole thing and regret comes back again. " _I mean those tattoos, the heavy eyeliner, the piercings….I never knew you had a thing for bad girls. Paul was as far away from bad you could get in a man so Beca is a very…._ _ **very**_ _nice transition."_

"Please stop…" Chloe pleads, her face hotter than a sauna. Boy, is she praying that somehow her phone gets disconnected or suddenly her mom loses her voice.

Beca is kicking her feet up in amusement hearing this conversation go down and Chloe knows her ego is inflating more and more every time her mom mentions how hot she is.

" _What's wrong bear? We always talk about Beca like this. I usually can't shut you up when we get to talking about the infamous, super sexy DJ."_

"Oh my God." Chloe would be perfectly fine with jumping in the hole her mother is digging for her and never come out again. "Mom, Beca's here right now." Chloe hears her mom gasp through the phone. "Beca, say hello."

"Hey Mrs. Beale," Beca happily obliges, wearing a dirty smirk on her face the entire time.

" _Oh my! I-I….I'm sorry Chlo. I didn't know she is with you. Is she visiting?"_

"Well now you do and yes, she flew in Friday and leaves tomorrow."

" _Oh I see. Beca, it's nice to meet you! Well, meet your voice, that is. Your sweet….sweet voice."_

Becs laughs all while the embarrassment is radiating down to Chloe's kneecaps. She thinks about maybe hanging up on her mom, you know, before she says anything else that makes her want to hide under a rock.

"It's nice to meet you too," Beca says, still smiling.

" _When are we going to meet your girlfriend, Chloe? You guys should come down to Tampa sometime soon and I'll talk to your brothers and try to get them down as well. We could go boating at grandpa's lake and go jet skiing."_

"Yeah yeah mom, we will see," Chloe rushes out, wanting the call to be over. The idea does sound like a lot of fun and having Beca there sounds even better. But both of them will have busy schedules after this weekend, Beca more so than herself but still. It's going to be hard making time and making time to plan a trip to Florida? Yeah, that could be tough. She doesn't want to think about it now. "I'm going to let you go now okay? We are going to eat. I promise to call you later and tell you more."

" _Sounds good dear. You two be safe now."_

"We will. Bye mom!"

"Bye!" Beca chips in her farewell.

Disconnecting the call from the screen, Chloe finally has the chance to breathe again. What a show that was. "Well, that's my mother."

"She sounds great." Beca is giving Chloe that warm smile and it's a smile that's genuine. Maybe that wasn't how she expected the first interaction between her girlfriend and mom to go but overall, it feels nice show Beca off to her family.

Even if it was a brief, five minute call.

"So…" Beca dangles for a moment and Chloe catches her eyebrows wiggling and knows what's about to come out of that smug mouth of hers. "You think I'm a _bad girl_ ey?"

Chloe groans loud. Curse her mom for spilling all of her dirty secrets out in the open for Beca to hear. She'll pay for that later. And okay no, Beca Mitchell is _everything_ but a bad girl.

" _Zipit_ , Mitchell," Chloe warns and Beca's smirk only grows wider. She grabs her sunglasses to throw over her eyes, hiding how flustered she is and lightly turns up the volume on the stereo. "Not another peep from you."

* * *

_**Sunday, September 18, 2:14 PM** _

In record time, they make it back into Atlanta and head straight towards the city to grab some food before going shopping. Beca ends up getting two hot dogs that she eventually scarfs down seconds later and Chloe decides on only one since they're making dinner later and if the fajitas Beca makes live up to her word, she doesn't want to be too full when night comes around.

Beca claims that even though they're pretty easy to make, her's are hands down the best, according to Stacie, who comes from a Spanish background and knows a bad Mexican dish from a good one. Chloe tells Beca she'll be the judge of that and gives her a flirty wink before heading to the ice cream truck, which is next on the list.

Chloe is impressed at how much Beca can fit in her tiny little body as she orders a chocolate, jumbo cone with extra chocolate syrup and turns out being the size of her face. This is the first time Chloe has actually _seen_ Beca eat since lunch with Aubrey she could tell Beca was more than a little bit nervous and at their date, she assumed Beca felt the same.

But now though, there's nothing stopping Beca from pigging out and Chloe thinks it's reassuring to see her less anxious and more comfortable.

"You wanna check Facebook?" Chloe asks, licking the rolling drop of melted strawberry ice cream off the cone before it hits her fingers. She leads them over to the city park nearby where some benches along a small pond are built and they take a seat, enjoying the scenery.

"Oh God. I'm nervous." Beca fumbles out her phone from her pockets, trying to be as graceful as possible so her sticky fingers from the ice cream don't touch her screen.

Giggling at the all the cuteness that makes up Beca , Chloe sees enough of Beca juggling and happily helps the girl out. Grabbing the phone, she hands Beca a packet of wipes she happens to carry in her satchel and watches her clean the ice cream off her fingers.

"Thanks."

"You eat like a three year old." Chloe giggles when she finds chocolate at the corner of Beca's mouth before using the same wipe to clean it off. "The cutest three year old though."

"Not my fault. It's hot outside and the ice cream is melting." Beca defends, ignoring Chloe's 'surrree' and crumbles up the wrappers in her hand. "You wanna check this?" She lifts her phone up and Chloe nods her head.

Looking in her bag until she finds her phone, she takes it out and switches her notification settings back on. Luckily, the comments from this morning have already calmed down and only a few banner at the top of her screen.

In unison, Beca and her click onto Facebook and aren't too surprised when they see a red, hundred plus bubble sitting on the little globe icon at the top of their profiles, knowing for sure they have comments and likes up the ass.

Overwhelming is Chloe's first feeling once she clicks under her new relationship status post and sees almost 400k likes and 10.6k comments that only seem to be increasing gradually. For the most part, all of the comments are sweet, besides the typical haters who can't even hide their amount of jealousy behind the screen.

The next feeling she experiences is excitement when she sees the name Warren Mitchell listed under all the friend requests she has.

_Already Facebook friends with the dad, score!_

Accepting without a flinch, keeping her giddiness under the covers, she moves on.

"This is crazy babe." Chloe scrolls down the list of comments, mostly all of them have "Bechloe is real" written and she laughs because never has she had a ship name before. Actually, all of this is something she never had before. The attention, fans, hundreds of friend requests, follows on Instagram. It is all so new to her but nonetheless is it not exciting to experience.

For Beca though, all this seems to be something that happens a lot for her, especially with the music she uploads and has been dealing with fans for years now, so she doesn't nearly seem as surprised as Chloe is. She is still smiling though, reading out loud the comments that makes her laugh and this only warms her heart a little bit more than it already was.

"I don't know how I feel about all these guys calling you hot though." Beca jokes with hidden bitterness behind the words. "They do at least back it up by calling me lucky which, duh…I am."

"I think _I'm_ the lucky one, according to my comments, and I have to agree with them." Chloe counters with a wink and clicks out of Facebook to look somewhere else.

Instagram is a different story on the other hand.

And since Chloe's profile is public to anyone and everyone to see, when she logs, she notes that her followers basically tripled since the last time she checked. She also catches an orange box under "photos of you" and sees the picture of Beca and her kissing at the drive in pop up on her screen. At least now she understands why she has many followers.

Seriously, she is a twenty away from 300k.

That is _**insane**_.

"I like this pic." Chloe stares at the picture for a good while before actually saying something and then saves the photo into her library so she can make it her wallpaper later.

It brings back memories from the night-last night, and she still feels the euphoria from how she felt when Beca dropped her off at home. The date felt like one from a fairytale.

Beca tears her eyes away from her phone to look over at Chloe's and notices the picture. "Oh, me too." She smiles, putting her hand over Chloe's and misses the jolt of electricity that shocks Chloe after her hand is there.

Chloe shakes it off though, clicking out of her phone after taking one last glance at all the comments and shoves it back into her satchel.

Beca is quiet when she is still reading all the things written from fans on her phone and it gives Chloe time to think.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow." Chloe's voice lowers and her energy drains. She never wanted to bring this up just yet, but being here with Beca, knowing that when tomorrow comes, they'll just end up talking through text again is unwanted reminder that's eating her alive.

A frown makes it to Beca's mouth and her jaw is clenching. Chloe doesn't know how her eyes are reacting because of the Ray Bans that cover them but she knows that they show signs of sadness by the scrunch in her brows. Beca twists her body and her leg bends at the knee when she lifts it to rest on the bench next to Chloe. Beca grabs her hands before speaking.

"Let's not talk about tomorrow." Her voice comes out weak and it's almost enough to shatter Chloe's heart. "I want to enjoy every second of today with you and not worry about tomorrow. I just wish I could freeze time, you know?"

Chloe gives her a sheepish smile, not trusting her voice because she knows if she talks, she will probably end up doing something equally as embarrassing. Just like always.

So, she nods her head, muting out all painful thoughts about tomorrow and pushes them to the back of her head where when the time comes, she'll resurface them. But for now, in this moment, Beca is all that she cares for.

* * *

_**Sunday, September 18, 3:03 PM** _

As they shop, Chloe couldn't put a finger on why today felt so different. Her and Aubrey would always go grocery shopping on the weekends, pick out whatever items they needed for the house and though Chloe isn't much of a fan despite her love for getting out of the house, she couldn't stand nor have the patience to stand waiting in those outrageous lines and walking in and out of aisles in search for food.

Her preferred scene takes place mostly at the mall where she'd spoil herself to a couple pairs of outfits and or shoes to match. Maybe some new jewelry if she really wants to empty out her bank account. That kind of shopping is something she enjoys.

But as she pushes a basket to follow closely behind Beca, who is reading off a list of ingredients they need for dinner in her hand, she couldn't help but think about how much fun she is having.

And maybe it was the thought of engaging in something so domesticated with Beca that made shopping enjoyable and her heart race but whatever it is, she liked it.

A lot.

During their shop, they go around trying all the free samples and maybe sneak by a second time for another round. They steal grapes out of the plastic bags, "checking" to make sure they're crunchy and juicy before they end up buying them-even though they weren't on the list.

Chloe tries to help by picking out the brand name salsa and Beca slaps her hand before she can throw it in the cart, telling her that there is absolutely no different taste when it comes to generic and brand name foods, plus it is a Hell of a lot cheaper. Chloe after hearing this just rolls her eyes with a shake to her head while Beca scavenges for the rest of food on the list.

And all while this happens, Beca still takes the time to wrap her arms around Chloe's waist from behind every once in awhile, a little reminder that she loves her since the basket occupied both of Chloe's hands so holding them is out of the options.

It's a small gesture, one that Chloe shouldn't be swooning over as much as she is but the mild, public affection is something to make her light headed. It's under Beca's grasp that makes her feel loved.

After finding the last thing on the list, they walk towards a register, picking out the one with less people and less items to scan.

Chloe pays for the food after arguing back and forth with Beca as a group of teenagers holding packets of junk food and Mountain Dew watch them intently from behind. She wins the battle by telling Beca if she plans on cooking all night, the least Chloe could do is pay for the food and also do the dishes.

But that will come later.

So, being defeated, Chloe slides her card through the machine once everything is bagged and Beca is already starting to put them back into the basket. They almost make it out to the truck until a group of the different teenagers come to them, recognizing Beca from the Internet and asks for a picture.

Once they leave, fangirling and all, Beca tells Chloe that she usually doesn't get noticed a lot in California because she likes to stay behind the curtains, hating all the attention. When she does end up running into a fan, they ask for a picture or a Snapchat video, nothing too out of the blue.

But now that she is featured on Atlantic's Twitter with Diplo and Skrillex, her name is getting out there in the world of fame and her face is becoming more familiar.

Chloe thinks it's all pretty neat and when she is even wanted in the picture with Beca and the fans, confirming that she is in fact _the_ Chloe Beale Beca is now in a relationship with, she gets a small taste of what Beca goes through and it's equally thrilling as it is absurd.

After the little celebrity moment Beca had, they proceed to pack the truck and head back to Chloe's to start cooking.

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 3:58 PM** _

Chloe unlocks the door to her house and Tank, being the professional welcomer he is, runs across the tile to jump up and lick her face, greeting her home and she's happy that she decided to wait to grab the groceries because if she had them, they would've been thrown all over the floor.

She pushes him away eventually once his excitement cools down and he settles by running around in circles, prancing up and down with his tongue poking out of his mouth.

"Is he always this….excited?" Beca cautiously rubs Tank behind his ears before he flips to his back and Beca scratches up his stomach.

"When he misses his momma, yes." Chloe answers, hanging her satchel up on the rack and moves her sunglasses to the top of her head. "Isn't that right baby?" She cooes in her best baby tone, smushing his face together and drops a kiss over his wet nose. This only excites Tank even more and before Beca can react, he's up again, giving her face a full on bath with his tongue.

She squeals and tries to push the dog off, "ugh! Gross!" Chloe laughs at Beca's attempts to block her face from Tank's licks but failing completely. She knows that maybe she should help Beca before she is smothered by her dog but part of her is saying to just leave it because there is nothing cuter than watching her girlfriend and dog interact.

Having mercy on the girl, "Tank! Heel!" she orders in her best teacher voice and immediately, Tank obeys. She grabs him by the collar and pulls him out to the back yard so he doesn't get in the way while they cook.

Beca's wiping off the saliva from her cheeks with the backs of her hands when Chloe comes back dog free and receives a unimpressed scowl, knowing exactly Chloe purposely instigated that scene.

She won't admit that though.

"That horse needs to be controlled." She huffs and puffs like the big bad wolf, crossing her arms above her chest.

"Oh quit being such a baby." Chloe walks over to Beca and wraps her hands around her waist, ignoring the fact that Beca smells like dog's breath when she's close enough to get a whiff. "Let's get you situated. Shall we?" Placing a kiss over Beca's furrowed brows, she takes her hand and brings her up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Um, so like…" Chloe stops at the top of the stairs when she hears the timidness in Beca's tone. "Do I sleep in Aubrey's room or…? The couch?"

Chloe ends up laughing because that was just silly. She taken back though when Beca doesn't join.

Wait, was she being serious?

"What do you mean?" Chloe cocks her head to the side, studying the the hand rubbing on the back of Beca's neck and lack of eye contact as a sign she picked up when Beca is feeling uncomfortable. Chloe knows she is nervous but doesn't understand why.

"I mean, unless we don't plan on sleeping tonight, I kinda need a bed to sleep in." Kicking the imaginary ball on the ground with her foot, she doesn't dare to look up at Chloe.

Okay, she definitely wasn't kidding.

"Uh, yeah. That bed would be mine." Chloe answers simply, using her thumb to point at the closed door over her shoulder.

"Seriously?" And then Beca is stuttering out mouthful of incoherent nonsense that really don't make any sense at all and Chloe doesn't know what has gotten into her. Why is she acting this way?

"I didn't know if you would be comfortable sharing a bed this early or like, whatever." It then makes sense and Chloe's love for the girl only skyrockets after hearing this because if Beca thinks she is spending the night in a room other than Chloe's, she has another thing coming. That thought of boundaries is sweet and it makes Chloe feel respected-though Beca doesn't have anything to worry about.

"Beca, you're my girlfriend. Of course you're sharing a bed with me, were you raised in a barn?" Relieved that Beca chuckles and her body starts to relax, "actually, girlfriend or not, you'd end up sharing a bed with me regardless because I love to cuddle," Chloe winks playfully. "I thought I already told you this?"

Shrugging sheepishly, "I guess I forgot."

"Well, now you know." Chloe nudges Beca's shoulder before grabbing her hand and pulling her the rest of the distance into her room.

Beca sets her duffle bag on the bed and kicks off her shoes. Chloe watches her scan the room, acting like she hasn't been here before when she traces every lone object on her drawer and smiles at the few picture frames on the desk.

Eventually after admiring the girl at her doorway for a tad bit too long, Chloe speaks, "so, you wanna get started on cooking?" And Beca nods her head before following Chloe down the stairs to retrieve the groceries from outside.

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 4:20 PM** _

Chloe bounces down the stairs after retrieving a Beat Pill speaker from her room so they can enjoy some music while they cook and says that music is acceptable no matter what they are doing and where they are at. "One Dance" by Drake is the first to come on through shuffle when she connects her phone and already, she feels her hips move on instinct.

"Good one, Beale." Beca smirks over her shoulder where she is cutting bell peppers and the kitchen is beginning to smell heavenly. She turns up the volume and sets her phone down.

"I _love_ to dance." Chloe gushes with a smile and small hop to the balls of her feet but Beca is so focused on cooking that she doesn't see.

"You do?" Beca's voice drips sarcasm and without even looking at her, Chloe can see the shit eating grin through the back of her head like x-ray vision. "I'm not much of a dancer." Beca is too busy washing the next set of peppers under the sink to notice Chloe shaking her head in disbelief.

A body like _that_ , shouldn't go to waste. If she's not much of a dancer, Chloe promises she'll change that after she gets her hands on her.

She leans her elbows on the counter, her hand holding her chin up and fastens her attention over to the chef.

And there's something about watching Beca cook that is so _intoxicating_ she wouldn't mind watching Beca in this habitat for hours on end.

The intense focus, how she scratches her nose with the back of her forearms because her hands are wet with pepper juice and shredded chicken. How every now and then she takes a eats of the chicken to test the seasoning and makes sure she applied enough. Or how she has her hair up in a loose ponytail and Chloe can see every muscle in her neck straining under her pasty skin.

It's this entire show and Drake's melodic voice through the speaker that makes Chloe lose all control of her body and then she finds herself reaching out around Beca to connect her hands from behind.

"Remember that night where I promised you one dance when I finally meet you?" she whispers soothingly in Beca's ear, loving the way the tips start to glow with red and she wonders if her face is reacting the same way. Unable to form words, which at a different time, Chloe would tease about, Beca nods and her smile stretches where it's grazing against the side of Beca's face. "I think now is a _great_...time for that."

She moves her hands to grip at Beca's waist, coincidentally when the exact lyrics flood through the kitchen and helps sway them in rhythm with her's. " _Strength and guidance, all that I'm wishing for my friends."_ Chloe sings softly in Beca's ear before retracting her hands away and turns her back away, not knowing if Beca is watching.

She rolls her hips in sync with the beat, each move looking so natural and she thanks Aubrey for always dragging her to those free salsa classes during college because right now, the Shakira moves are coming in clutch.

" _Soon as you see the text, reply me, I don't wanna spend time fighting, we've got no time."_ Chloe's not even looking and can feel the power of Beca's eyes bore at her lower half that's twisting and swaying to the beat. Turning around to get a glance for herself, she wants to giggle when she sees the dumbfounded look on Beca's face and for a brief moment she thinks the girl might of went into shock.

Maybe Beca is not even breathing and she should be a lot more worried than what she is. But this stunned behavior from Beca only encourages her to dance with more urgency and purpose and soon, she yanks on Beca's hand, brushing off the fact her hands are wet and a tad bit cold from the water and uses Beca's front like a backboard to grind her backside against, pulling her closer by the neck when she reaches back.

She arches her back, twirls her hips in a way that should be illegal and she flips her hair to the side-mostly because she got a chunk of it caught in her mouth, not because she was trying to be sexy- but when Beca's voice hitches from behind at the new skin on her neck, she tells herself she did it on purpose.

Anyone who would walk in on this, for example, Aubrey let's say, she'd probably think it is the strangest thing _ever_ to be caught doing. Two people, just casually grinding on each other in the middle of the kitchen like they are downtown at a twenty one and up club. Chloe can't seem to care though, at how unnatural this may look because-it took a while to find some courage-but Beca is beginning to dance behind her with the help from her hands and Chloe is loving every damn second of it.

Beca's breathing comes out as pants now, more labored, hitting the area underneath Chloe's ear, just behind her jaw and it prickles Chloe's insides. Maybe they shouldn't be doing this. Maybe they should be focusing on cooking, like they originally planned to do before they spill or burn something. But the tightness of Beca's grip on either side of Chloe's waist and the way her lips brush against the side of Chloe's neck has no become more important than cooking.

And it's when Beca's hands slide up Chloe's stomach, hovering just over her rib cage that she thinks _fuck_ fajitas right now, Chloe wants Beca for dinner.

Dirty, she knows.

But oh so true.

The timer to the microwave goes off, scaring the both of them out of their skin until they scramble apart breathless and Chloe doesn't know if it's because she just had a heart attack, or because of Beca's hands and where they were at on her body seconds ago. She's a little more than disappointed that their moment got cut short. The song was really building, allowing them to let loose, especially Beca. But all fun soon comes to an end, probably for the best because she wouldn't really know how to come out clean and tell Aubrey she burned down the house while dancing with Beca in a fragile way.

That would _not_ be good.

So, she clears her throat and resumes her position back at the counter to watch Beca again.

Beca manages to finish cutting the rest of the peppers before throwing them in the crockpot with the chicken and moving on to the onion next. Despite her previous state, she looks balanced and less…..flustered than before, which is impressive because for Chloe, she can still feel Beca's body heat pressed up against her back and doesn't know when it will go away, or _if_ it will go away.

"You have a lovely voice," she says, slashing the knife through the onion on the cutting board. "And can dance pretty fucking well."

"Music teacher and all." Chloe shrugs, glad she is able to regain herself so quickly. "Plus, acapella alumni post captain _present_ ," she coughs up her best soldier tone, saluting a single arm when Beca turns her head around.

She snickers and the stinging scent of the onion is already misting her eyes, Chloe notes by the redness.

"I know my dancing is pretty good but nothing worth crying over, love."

"Shut up," Beca grumbles through a sniffle and notices Chloe staring back at her from the table, not moving. "You going to sit there and watch me all day or are you going to help?"

Getting up with a roll to her eyes, "I mean, I guess I could help. It's the least I could do even though watching you is so much better." Chloe heads over to the stove where Beca is standing to await her orders around the kitchen.

Beca starts by telling her she bought some Spanish rice and tortillas that are still in the bag on the counter and that she could start helping by warming them up so they're ready to go when the meat is done. Chloe, living up to her word about never cooking around the house and not knowing a damn thing she is doing, has to get walked through step by step because she is positive without Beca's help, the rice would end up burning to charcoal, or she'd put too much water in the pan, causing it to bubble up and overflow and that's something she wants to avoid at all costs.

Tonight is one of those nights where she plans on not ruining dinner, like she has done so many other times in the past.

Eventually after clear instructions, she cooks the rice until it's a golden brown and adds the seasoning and tomatoes as the last touch before setting the timer for thirty minutes. Warming up the tortillas is the easy part, Chloe thinks, because all she has to do is put a stack on a plate, put a paper towel over them and stick them in the microwave to heat.

After all this is done, Chloe feels proud at her work, even though Beca had the harder part of the dinner but you know what? Whatever. It is fun to participate in this cooking thing and doing it for the first time with Beca makes it even better.

Both of them sit and wait at the kitchen table for the rice to cook, music playing softly in the background and Beca loads up the files of inprogress mixes that she's working on and asks Chloe for her opinion about what she thinks so far.

Chloe, of course, tells her that she thinks they're great, just like she always tells Beca when she shows off her songs and that Diplo is going to love them. She also gets lost in the way Beca talks so passionately about music and how she trying to explain all the savvy DJ terminology but all Chloe gets out of it is a foreign language. What she does understand though is how beautiful Beca is.

Not that she didn't already know this before.

What adds to her beauty-which Chloe didn't even think was possible-is the sweet sound of her voice when - ironically- Justin Bieber's voice echoes through the kitchen and "Where Are U Now" plays on the speaker as she sings along quietly. Chloe thinks she feels the world stop by the raw talent of her voice and already before this, she knew Beca had some pretty pipes impressive on her. But hearing it in person is a whole different story and she swears the wind gets sucked right from her lungs the longer she is serenaded.

Beca fiddles around on her laptop, not noticing how much her voice is affecting Chloe. It isn't until another voice joins her when she tears her gaze away from her screen to hear Chloe harmonizing perfectly.

She gets hypnotized by Beca's eyes, lost in Beca's voice and every twitch of Beca's mouth, or the bulging veins in Beca's neck. And all other sounds start to drown out in Chloe's head and all she can hear is the mixture of Beca's powerful alto and Chloe's high soprano voice.

If their voices decided to join Tinder, or any other ridiculous dating app, they'd be a match for sure.

When there isn't anymore lyrics to sing, "you still thinking of doing vocals for Diplo's album? Chloe says. Beca is out of her damn mind if she declines that offer because her voice is something the world should be able to hear.

It truly is a gift.

"I don't know yet." Beca smiles shyly. "Stacie, my mom and now you are the only ones I actually feel comfortable singing with. I don't show off my voice often."

Chloe's heart takes a pretty big hit with this, honored that she is one of the people Beca feels most comfortable with and she finds it hard to not show how large it's swelling. It's almost impossible to think Beca had this shield up for so long, blocking out anyone in sight at the possibility of getting close but when Chloe is the one around, she has only been reeled in closer. Not pushed away.

"If I do end up featuring on Diplo's album, Ed Sheeran already called dibs on me for one of his." Beca laughs and it's nice to see her thinking thoughtfully about this.

The timer goes off, letting know the food is ready and Beca is up and out of her seat preparing the food to chow down on before Chloe can even react. Beca urges Chloe to come make her plate because she is starving and she can feel her stomach eating itself.

And it's then when she thinks how much of a keeper Beca is, one second she's pouring her heart out, the next she's stuffing her face.

Like she said before, and she'll probably say it again, she is one lucky gal to have a rare gem like Beca all to herself.

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 6:04 PM** _

After making their plates and Chloe going out to the back to let Tank in, feeding him as well, they all gather around the kitchen table and talk about everything there is to talk about. Beca occasionally feeds Tank under the table without Chloe noticing-or so she thought- and she can't help but get the "family vibe" while she's eating.

And this vibe is enough to make her stomach flip inside down-in the good way- as she eats.

Beca goes off on a story about this one time Stacie and her took a Spring Break trip to Cancun and ended up getting food poisoning from a Mexican restaurant down there, and since then, the both of them haven't been caught eating out at a public Mexican place, scared that if they do, they'll end up getting sick again.

This was of course hard for Beca to stick with since her obvious love for Mexican food but after searching google, Pinterest and watching endless sessions of the Food Network, she and Stacie have conquered a ton of recipes to make for themselves without actually going out.

Hence why her fajitas were absolutely _amazing_ and left Chloe wanting more and more until she felt like her stomach was going to explode.

It's around seven thirty when they finish eating. They split cleaning the kitchen; Chloe washes the dishes while Beca dries, even though she cooked and Chloe didn't want her to do dishes too because of all her hard labor over the stove but she put her foot down, out beating Chloe's pleas to relax and helped out.

Now, after packing up the food and turning off the lights in the kitchen to go upstairs, Beca is laying down on Chloe's bed, exhausted, with Tank sleeping all up in her crotch and Chloe wants to snap a picture because this moment is absolutely too precious not to treasure.

Beca acts like she doesn't like Tank but this view proves that it's all an act and she actually likes him a lot otherwise, she would've kicked him somewhere else to sleep.

Taking out her phone, she sneaks a picture unnoticed since Beca's eyes are closed and joins them on the bed when she gets one that she likes. Beca eyes flutter open at the dip in the bed, they're heavy and she gives Chloe a lazy half grin.

"Tired?" Chloe's uses her fingers to brush the hair over Beca's face behind her ear and sees her eyes floating close again.

"Mm no." Beca is still smiling though her eyes are shut and her words sound like just a bunch of mumbles with the amount of sleep lacing them. Chloe knows Beca is lying; the girl can barely keep her eyes open.

She laughs when Beca forces herself to sit up, stretching her eyes wide to keep them open this time and she kinda wants to kick Tank off the bed because where he's at is making it impossible for her to cuddle Beca.

Totally not "wingdog" material that's for sure.

"Thanks for dinner." Chloe finds a comfortable position around the dog sprawled out in between Beca's legs, resting her head on Beca's shoulder and wraps her arm in place over her stomach. "It was really good."

"Anytime." Beca drops a kiss on top of Chloe's head and she feels Beca's hand move drop to her side. "I hope you learned a few pointers so you could make yourself useful around the house."

"Hey now!" Chloe smacks Beca's stomach when she laughs, causing her to flinch underneath. "I _am_ useful." She smacks Beca again when she's rewarded with a teasing eye roll. "Now that I have you in my life do I really need to cook? I thought we had an agreement; I would do laundry and dishes if you cook."

"Hm, I guess you're right."

"Exactly."

A peaceful silence washes over, just them simply enjoying each other's company while tangled in one's embrace. It isn't until Beca breaks the silence by asking, "you want to pull an all nighter?" that Chloe lifts her head to see is if she was being serious and when she the daring glint in those dark blues she knows Beca was being _dead_ serious.

"You have a busy day tomorrow." Chloe honestly wants nothing more than to stay up all night with Beca, enjoying the last bit of time she has left with her but she doesn't want Beca to walk around the airport like a zombie from the lack of sleep and high level of fatigue all day.

Plus, it's only around eight and she is already fighting herself from going to sleep, so how she thinks she'll be able to survive a handful more of hours is beyond Chloe.

"I do have a busy day but also, I have to spend five hours on a plane and what better to do on a giant metal death trap than to sleep?" Okay, touche Beca, touche. "Wasn't it you who wanted to know the next time I play owl?" She raises a challenging brow. Chloe recalls her saying this when they first started talking after finding out Beca did this the first night they talked.

"I mean…. yeah."

"So how bout tonight? We don't have to go to sleep and we can watch movies all night or listen to music or simply just talk all night long, I really don't care. I just want to spend the time I have left with you right," Beca concludes with loving eyes that makes it hard to look in. All these options sound more than perfect, not caring that sleep isn't one, and Chloe finds herself agreeing to this with a nod.

If staying up all night grants her more time to spend with Beca, that is something she is willing to give up in a heartbeat.

* * *

_**Sunday September 18, 11:23 PM** _

Chloe finds out that all she has to do with Beca in helping her stay awake is to put in a couple of scary movies and doing this, it works like a charm, similar to chugging a energy drink or a couple cups of coffee. There's no way now Beca is going to sleep anytime soon.

Tank ends up finding a seat towards the end of Chloe's bed once Beca starts screaming at the jumpscares, not liking the amount of flinching Beca is doing. Chloe could care less with him gone because now, Beca is cradled in her arms with the sleep shirt she changed into not too long ago is up to her eyes and face buried deep in Chloe's neck as she peeks through a squinted eye while watching Nightmare on Elm Street.

"There's three things wrong with these types of movies. One, they're _disgusting_. Like seriously, why do directors insist on so much blood and guts? Two, do they purposely find the worst actors and actresses on the planet who are atrocious at fake crying? Three, are the directors _also_ trying to give the viewers a heart attack because _shit_ , majority of these movies are terrifying!"

"That's the point of scary movies, Becs." Chloe can only laugh at what Beca is saying and laughs even harder when another jump scare on the screen startles her out from her skin.

Luckily for Beca, the movie ends and Chloe thinks she's reached her peak of paranoia for the night. She turns on a more happy movie for the sake of Beca's well being and finds herself not only missing the entire movie playing but also finds herself watching Beca instead.

"You're freaking me out," Beca says, feeling the power behind Chloe's eyes and she wonders how long she has been staring before getting caught. Then, Beca giggles- like actually _giggles_ , and Chloe thinks for a brief second that her bloodstream just got reversed.

What happens next is more of a blur, one moment she's staring at Beca from the side and then the next she's hovering over Beca, smashing their lips together in a bruising kiss and she doesn't know exactly why this change of events occurred, or what triggered her body to react the way it did.

Maybe it was all the happiness catching up with her as she is positive that today was the best day of her life. Or maybe it was the vivid memory of Beca's hands being all over her body when they danced in the kitchen and she only wants to feel that fire again. She's not entirely sure.

But what she does know is that the kiss takes no time at all before it goes from innocent to sinful, and Beca's hands show no hesitation in sneaking up her Guns N' Roses shirt while their tongues knot together, all while Beca is releasing tiny moans into her mouth when fingernails scratch across her stomach muscles.

And Chloe swears she's never heard sounds this rousing come from another person's mouth before until she heard them come from Beca.

Her head is becoming fuzzy and she feels hot all over, especially under Beca's touch where it melts her skin. Fingers- eight and two thumbs to be exact- splay over every inch of her skin. But when those fingers dancing along her stomach take a direct route to slip just barely under the bra she happens to be wearing, she feels like her body is on the verge of exploding.

Beca sucks at the skin on her lip and the overflowing courage the girl suddenly has makes her slip out a throaty moan before she has the chance to even catch it.

And then Chloe's on a downward, spiral of pure ecstasy when Beca gropes at her chest, leaving her panting a line of curse words in a volume barely above a whisper into Beca's curving mouth and any other time, she'd be appalled by her vulgar language but now, with the caressing Beca's hands are doing, she just doesn't give a _flying fuck_.

She arches her back into Beca's palms where they mount underneath her t-shirt, keeping an equally steady pace between twisting and pinching and it's all too much yet at the same time not enough. God, good doesn't even come close to how this feels.

Wanting more, she lifts one hand off the bed where it's pressed near the side of Beca's head, not able to lift both without falling face first into Beca due to no support keeping her up and snakes the hand underneath Beca's shirt to join all the fun.

Goosebumps rise under her hand where it travels up Beca's stomach, unaware that her hands always seem to be cold no matter how warm she is. Beca's stomach is toned surprisingly and she takes her time tracing each outline of abs she can reach. Then when she's done, the smooth skin of Beca's stomach is replaced with the swell of her breast and Beca is the one doing all the moaning now, lucky that she didn't have to go through the fumbling process of the extra piece of clothing when she realizes Beca is braless.

Chloe has a hard time keeping up with the kissing while trying to not freak out over the fact she is half feeling Beca up and wishes that she could use both her hands because it would probably emit some more noises from Beca that are hands down, the sexiness noises she has ever heard.

She has to stop though, even when her body is screaming not is moving all too fast and yes, she'd love to take her relationship with Beca to the next level but there's still this reminder going off in her head that this has been the farthest she has ever gone with a girl before. It wasn't everyday she got to touch a pair of tits that weren't her's.

Beca is also leaving tomorrow and couples who go through long distance relationships should want to be intimate with their partner because they don't know when they'll get the chance again. But sex for Chloe is scary, especially with a girl since it would be her first time.

She wants to make sure that her relationship with Beca is more than just sex, not saying that she thinks it is or whatever. Explaining it is hard honestly.

Of course, once sex is in the equation, she wants nothing more than Beca to be her first. But right now, it just isn't the time. She'll probably hate her decisions when tomorrow comes around but that's something she'll deal with later.

She removes her mouth from Beca's and can already tell her lips are swollen. Beca's are too when she opens her eyes and they have to take time to themselves to regain their breathing back to normal. She also retracts her hand back in view and notes that Beca's pupils are blown, showing not even a sliver of blue under the dim lights in her room.

"I'm sorry," Chloe apologizes when she is able to form words again and nothing is making her _not_ feel like the world's biggest asshole because she was the one to fuel what just went down.

But you know when you go to a fast food place hungry and get big eyed, ending up ordering more food than you can eat? That's how she felt, thinking she could go farther with Beca when in reality, she wasn't-isn't ready yet.

"Why are you sorry?" Beca quirks a brow, her voice is low and sexy and Chloe has to clench her fists not to attack her again.

She takes a deep breath and exhales, "I don't think I can go any further tonight and I feel like a total dick because I lead you on." And lowers her head for a second before Beca takes a hand out from under her shirt to hold her cheek back in place where they are looking into eachother's eyes.

"Don't be sorry for not being ready for… _that_. Yes, it will take a little time for my to regroup and my body temperature to return back to normal but it's alright, Chlo." She smiling and that's a good sign right? "I don't wash to rush you. When you're ready, let me know. I'm not going anywhere."

Thinking Beca is absolutely sweeter than sugar, Chloe bites her lip, "thank you." She kisses Beca's palm where it holds her cheek before laying down to rest her chin over Beca's sternum.

"Was it only me, or did you feel weird making out in front of your dog?" Beca cautiously questions, glancing over to Tank at the end of the bed who sure enough, is watching them intently.

Chloe giggles, "you're a dork. No I didn't feel weird. I actually kind of forgot he was there to be honest."

"Why is he just staring blankly at us?" Beca points. "He knows."

"Oh my God, Beca. He's a dog." Chloe's giggles turn to full laughs and she gets up from the bed to start another movie for them to watch. Beca is still going on about how Tank knew exactly what they were doing and that they shouldn't be filling his head with x-rated images and Chloe shuts her up with a more G-rated kiss and tells her to watch the movie before she orders Tank to bite her.

Thankfully, it ends up working.

* * *

_**Monday September 19, 8:34 AM** _

The sun rises rather quickly as the clock counts down, hours feeling like seconds and seconds basically nonexistent.

Neither of them slept the previous night, not wanting to waste a second of the time they had left with each other and before they knew it, after a night of just talking and watching movies, the day both of them were dreading the most is now right in front of them.

When morning comes around and they finally get out of bed, Beca cooks Chloe breakfast and they eat together on the couch while watching poorly scripted dating shows on MTV. It isn't until noon comes around while they are piled up on top of each other, Beca combing through Chloe's hair where she lays on her stomach and she is going off on rants about how fake and unrealistic these dating shows are that they have to get ready so Chloe could drop Beca off at the airport before she ended up missing her flight.

Not that Chloe would mind. That'd at least leave her with more time to spend with Beca and she wouldn't have to say goodbye. She'd just be stuck in Georgia and maybe Chloe would come up with an elaborate plan to kidnap her, keeping Beca all to herself just like she wishes it could be.

_Forever._

But some wishes are just too much to ask for. This wish being one of them.

The entire drive over to the airport is silent. Neither one of them is talking and there isn't much laughing going on like there usually is with them. There's no music is playing in the background.

It's just _noiseless_.

And this lack of conversation should pick at Chloe's skin because she for one hates silence when around other people but it's not. Even if she wanted to talk, she couldn't because she knows if she tries, she'd end up crying, not trusting her emotions completely at the painful realization of where they're heading.

The thing that makes her feel at ease though is the fact that Beca hasn't let go of her hand since they first left the house. And she keeps it close to her heart and brushes her thumb against the back of Chloe's hand soothingly as a reminder that, "hey, I'm not mad at you, I just don't want to leave," and that's enough to leave Chloe at peace.

The time it takes to drive to the airports flies by.

Beca takes her duffle bag out of the back once they make it to the passenger drop off and Chloe shouldn't be walking her inside because 1). The terminal isn't really a parking lot and could get towed by the time she comes back out and 2). Walking Beca in until they reach security will only make it that much harder to say goodbye.

But not ready to leave just yet and not wanting to let go of her hand, she walks Beca into the airport and waits for her to print out her boarding pass from the machine connected with Delta.

Security appears in front of them faster than Chloe can even blink and she starts to think they teleported over here by how fast they made it and all Beca has to do is look at her before she feels the tears welling in her eyes and it isn't until Beca brings her in for a hug, they start to pour out one by one.

She hears Beca crying too and it makes the tears pour harder when she feels Beca's body shake against her own.

"When will I see you again?" Chloe croaks this about and it's almost inaudible by the sobs she has to choke back in order for her to speak.

"Soon, baby," Beca answers, the first time Chloe hears her voice since this morning and it's weak. She nuzzles her face closer into the space between Chloe's neck and shoulder and holds her even tighter.

Chloe wants to believe Beca. Wants to believe that it won't be long until Beca is back in her arms and she is able to kiss her whenever she wants. But the ringing reminder that it can't always be that easy hits Chloe full force and it scares her.

Chloe thinks they hug for hours until she pulls back, knowing she needed to let Beca go before she doesn't go at all. It took every muscle fiber in her entire body to do so but finally, she is able to see Beca's face. She wipes her eyes to get rid of the tears and sees the airport security and guards patiently waiting, taking it that they see this quite a bit.

"I love you Beca," Chloe swallows the lump in her throat, feeling another set of tears pooling their way by the tickle in her nose.

Beca wipes up her own face and this time Chloe notices that she isn't wearing any make up. "I love you too." And the pure love that is laced in her voice is almost enough for Chloe to pull her back into a hug but she controls herself, knowing that if she gets a hold of Beca again there's absolutely no way she is letting go.

"Text me when you make it through safely and board the plane. You know, the usual." Beca weakly nods her head, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling to stop the tears from falling.

"This isn't goodbye, Beca." Chloe hooks her fingers under Beca's chin to make eye contact again. "It's a see you later." She tries her hardest to smile and she knows it probably comes out ugly, with the way her lip is quivering and her nose is runny because of the crying. But Beca is still looking at her like she's the most beautiful thing on this planet and that look in her eyes is enough to believe her.

Not knowing what else to say, she brings Beca in for one last kiss that's salty from the tears, making sure it's slow enough to savour but strong enough to leave them both gasping for air when they break away.

She places a few lingering kisses over Beca's cheeks, taking her time to really soak in way her skin feels beneath her lips, just in case she forgets what it feels like.

Not that she ever thinks she could.

As hard as it is, she gives a playful tap to Beca's butt, guiding her in the direction to security and gets a watery chuckle in return. She watches Beca make it about a few feet away until Beca is spinning on the heels of her feet when Chloe waves her back over, not done with her quite just yet, and Beca wraps arms around Chloe giving her _one last kiss._

This time being true to its word, Beca leaves and Chloe watches her get patted down by security and walk through that weird airport device that takes pictures of you naked. She waves when Beca picks up her carry on after putting her shoes back on that's the last the last time Chloe sees her before she is gone.

Chloe decides she should probably get back to her truck when Beca is no longer in sight. She holds herself together for the most part as she now retraces her steps through the airport, this time though, empty handed. It isn't until she makes it into her truck and drives for a safe distance away from the terminal that she pulls over to the side of the highway and breaks down.

Tears stream down her face into her lap where they hit the top of her thighs and this goes on until she reaches the hiccup stage of crying. With easy breaths, she manages to stop the tears before she ends up getting sick and when she does, her phone vibrates in the cup holder.

_**Monday September 19 1:15 PM** _

**B: I miss you already.**

**B: So fucking much.**

And then at a finger's snap, thinking she has no more tears left to shed, these messages prove her wrong and _bam_ , she's crying again, hands cupping her eyes as she slams the phone unintentionally hard into the passenger seat.

She's not angry that Beca had to go; she's upset. Upset that things can't be normal for them like the other couples she sees holding hands all the time or walking down the street of her neighborhood. Upset that their relationship has to go back to text messages and phone calls and occasional skype dates. Upset that Beca has to go back to LA where the timezone is different, which means the time Chloe has to talk to Beca is cut off by three full hours.

She is just _upset_.

And because she is so _upset_ , she can't control her emotions right now.

Beca's gone, and she doesn't know when she'll see her again and that not only makes her upset, it _terrifies_ her.


	12. New Skype Dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, with distance comes inevitable obstacles, and our girls are just now starting to face them.

_**Monday September 19, 1:15** _

**B: I miss you already**

**B: So fucking much**

Beca hits send, fingers trembling as she holds the phone in place, the knot in her throat forming back as she swallows back the tears. She doesn't want to cry in public anymore than she has done already. She doesn't want her eyes to keep burning from the tears already shedded, the constant puffiness around her eyes that are almost swollen shut. She doesn't want to feel this empty, aching pain in her heart anymore.

But the constant reminder that she just had to leave Chloe; the person who gave her one of the best weekends of her entire life, the person who she is absolutely head over heels for keeps biting her on the ass and makes it hard to act like everything is OK when it's definitely not.

Inevitably, after three short days, Chloe and her's time is no longer and it's back to reality, much to her dismay. If it was up to her without any serious yields to her life and career, she'd rip her boarding pass to shreds, run down the runways of the airport calling Chloe for her turn her truck around and pick her back up because there is no way in Hell she is leaving.

But that's not the case here.

Beca goes through the same ritual; she walks down the busy airport in search for her gate, weaving in and out of the crowd of people, who majority of the time are business men dressed in fancy suits, who obviously are late for something because they nearly knock Beca to her ass as they speed by. She for the most part would've been annoyed at how rude some people go be but right now, she doesn't seem to care about anything as she mopes with her head down to find her section.

She contemplates buying a keychain, or something equally cheesy and tacky at one of those gift shops-but stops herself when she holds the metal twisty peach connected like a globe with Atlanta Georgia writing on the gold border of the keychain and realizes that buying this small piece of cheap metal only makes her feel like she will be gone for good. Never returning back to Georgia in the near future.

And that's everything Beca doesn't want to make it seem like because she's already flipping through dates on her phone to figure out her next free weekend to fly back down.

When finding the right gate that reads Los Angeles on the LED board, she's more than happy to see that there's an empty section of chairs to sit down at to wait in silence for her flight. She falls to a seat in one of them with a groan, her body going flaccid once her back hits the leather and she pulls out her phone to a text. Expecting it to be Chloe, she sees Stacie's name pop up instead.

_**Monday September 19, 1:37 PM** _

_Stacie_ : _Hey munchkin, just checking up to see if you made it through security and found your gate alright._

Stacie is literally the only thing Beca is actually excited to go back home and see. She's misses her friend more than you could imagine and this weekend was actually the longest time apart they've spent from each other since that one time Stacie had to fly back to Oregon for her sister's wedding.

So, she curves her first real smile of the day when responding back, happy to almost be in an arm's reach of her best friend again.

**B: Hey, Stace. Yeah I just made it through security and everything.**

_Stacie: Good! I'm excited to see you! :) Never leave me for this long again…_

**B: It was only three days Stace ;-)**

**B: Not a year.**

_Stacie: Three days WAY too long!_

_Stacie: Hurry up and come back home :(_

**B: Haha I'll try dork**

Beca exits out of her conversation and still sees she hasn't gotten a message from Chloe yet. She knows that once turning her back from security Chloe was having a hard time and figures she wants some time alone to regroup with herself so she doesn't dwell.

God knows Beca needs to do the same thing.

She puts on her glasses-which alone is something she isn't proud of because she was "that douche" in the airport. But the bright lights mixed with the amount of crying she did is making hard to see without her eyes watering from the brightness. Also, with the glasses on, they can hide the redness and puffiness from her eyes so it doesn't look like she's an emotional wreck right now and instead an, unsociable, cocky, stuck up person-which is a way better image she is going for.

She glances at her boarding pass and sees that they'll begin to board at 1:55, depart at 2:15, which gives her some time to relax before this bitch of a flight she is about to endure. Chloe ended up packing her a little bag of snacks; all ranging from a freshly, crisp apple to Beca's favorite candy, sour gummy worms. She remembers telling Chloe that she gets horrible motion sickness so inside, there's also this type of medicine to help ease her stomach and an unopened package of minty gum to unplug her ears when they reach a certain height.

Unclipping her beats case from her duffle bag, she plugs them into her phone and goes through her music to speed up the remaining time. Not finding anything specific that she wants to listen to, she hits shuffle before closing her eyes and leans back in the chair kicking her feet out to cross at the ankles. The opening chords of Drake's, "One Dance" pumps through her earphones and she would've listened to it all the way through if it wasn't for the fact it reminded her of Chloe because one, it is one of her top choice songs to listen to and two, it's fucking Drake.

Like, come on.

And though the memory of Chloe dancing in the kitchen, moving her hips in a fashion that should be considered a crime, the simple thought of her absent girlfriend is still making it hard to to burst down a cry at the extreme capability at how much she already misses the redhead. So, she skips the song and listens patiently to hear what plays next.

Not thinking too much of this one, "Stay" by Rihanna softly soothes as the piano hums through the speakers and again, Beca hurries to change the song because she knows her heart can't take it.

Like a sign or something, "Won't Go Home Without You" by Maroon plays next and it makes her stop to think if her phone is playing some sick joke on her. Like it is purposely making her think of Chloe and the lyrical reminder that she just left the best thing that has ever happened to her back at passenger drop off. More forceful this time since the annoyance is ringing through her like a cow bell, she does the same with this song, not wanting to listen to the bugging lyrics and skips to the next.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Beca mutters as the opening beat fills her ears. The music Gods must be having a grand ol' time stringing these song together to mess with her heart.

Billy Joel's, "Uptown Girl" blares through the headphones with its pop, happy, upbeat melody, hitting Beca full force like a semi truck filled with thoughts about Chloe. Out of all the songs in her library, these songs decide to come up in a strange sequence, leaving Beca to feel like even more shit than she already does. She yanks the beats off her ears and wraps the cord away before sitting in silence, watching the people around her engage in their own post flying activities.

Might as well people watch since obviously music is out of the option. She also pops the medication Chloe bought for her, figuring if she takes it now, by the time she gets on the plane she'll crash.

The wait doesn't take long though and soon enough, Beca is walking down the alley of the plane until she reaches her proper seat and is not only lucky but stoked to see that she gets the window seat again. As she throws her duffle bag up in the top cabin and situates her backpack in between her feet on the ground, making sure it's safely pushed under the seat, a set of familiar faces takes a seat down next to her.

Being lucky once again (and happy she doesn't have to sit next to complete strangers) Beca smiles when the same old lady from her trip out to Georgia reaches her purse under the seat and turns to face her.

"Well I'll be damned. It must be fate bringing us back together. I think we are destined to be airplane pals," The old woman jokes and it makes Beca smile because old people have a habit at laughing at their own jokes, thus making it contagious.

"It must be." Beca waves over to the woman's husband, not ideally on the same level of friendship she is with his wife but still feels the need to greet him. "How was your trip?"

"It was short and sweet. Our grandson had a huge football game this weekend and just had to drop everything, pack up to see it," The woman gushes, patting Beca's wrist and leaning in extra close to exchange one of those friendly old people whispers.

Beca is only a little bit uncomfortable by the closeness of the lady's face next to her's but there isn't much she can do with being cornered and stuck on a plane. It's a sweet gesture though and Beca finds it not that hard to dismiss how she feels.

She's about to tell the couple about her weekend after they asked how her trip was in return but she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket several times and just gets a hunch that it's the one person who has been running a marathon through her mind since the moment she left.

Proving that hunch correct, a few texts from Chloe glow on her screen and is enough to have her heart already cramping through her chest.

_**Monday September 19, 2:10 PM** _

_C: I miss you too, baby._

_C: Would you make fun of me if I told you just a little while ago, I had the world's biggest and most dramatic breakdown on the side of the highway?_

_C: Wanna know how many cops pulled over and asked me if I was alright? TOO MANY! :(_

Beca reads these messages with a watery smile and couldn't keep in the choked up sob much longer before she chuckles a groggy, wet sound, alerting the old lady next to her who has a set of worried eyes. She wipes the tears with the back of her hand, clearly aware of the concerned stare she is receiving from her airplane buddies and can't believe she's actually crying this hard in front of people.

"Sorry, " she shrugs her shoulders and lifts her phone as if this lady can read the messages from Chloe. "I just left my girlfriend so I'm kind of emotional. Probably will end up crying randomly again between now and when we land at LAX."

A wave of shock hits the woman by the change in her facial expressions at the mention of girlfriend and Beca is prepared for the, " _you're going to burn in Hell, what you're doing is a sin and isn't how God created you to live blah blah blah blah blah,"_ but is surprised when she is returned a genuine sympathetic smile and then the woman's hand is holding onto her wrist.

"I'm sorry, dear. I've left my husband many times when he fought in the military and I've cried every time we had to say goodbye. But in the end when we would meet up, it's just another 'hello,' to add to the books" the woman's smile only stretches wider.

As weird as it may seem, Beca leans into the simple touch, enjoying the little bit of physical contact that comforts her hurting heart and isn't too surprised when she starts to cry again. Gentle arms wrap around her shoulders and though her sinuses are all clogged up from crying, she gets a strong whiff of old, vintage perfume, the kind where you have to squeeze the ball to extract the mist out and hates how vulnerable she feels in a total stranger's embrace.

Although the gesture is nice and helps Beca feel less alone, the hug eventually ends by the flight attendants checking bags in the middle aisle while the pilot begins talking through the airplane's speakers.

**B: Of course I wouldn't make fun of you.**

**B: Would you make fun of me if I told you I just broke down and the old lady I'm sitting next to had to comfort me?**

**B: She keeps looking over at me, waiting for me to start crying again…. Haha**

_C: Beca, that's sweet :(_

_C: Pull a scene, get kicked off the plane and I'll come pick you back up at the airport. I never want you to leave :(_

**B: Don't tempt me Beale. I'm already strategizing what flight attendant to start a fight with.**

**B: This isn't the only time we will see each other Chlo, though it might seem like it now. We will see each other soon.**

**B: I promise.**

_C: I believe you. I just hate waiting._

_C: But you're worth the wait._

**B: I love you, Chloe.**

_C: I love you too, Beca._

_C: Have a safe flight back. Tell Stacie I say hi!_

**B: Haha, will do. Tell Aubrey I say hey too. I know she comes back today, sucks I didn't see her before I left.**

_C: I will! Maybe next time we all could do more than just a small lunch. I'm sure she's dying to squeeze some more stuff out of you ;)_

**B: Yikes…. I changed my mind…**

_C: Shush, I won't let her hassle you too much ;)_

**B: Good enough.**

**B: Well I'm getting eyed by the people sitting diagonal from us who keep staring at my phone so I think that's the cue to shut it off haha**

**B: Don't want to be the reason why the plane malfunctions**

_C: Beca! Don't say that!_

**B: Haha**

**B: I'll text you when I land :-)**

_C: You better!_

By the time Beca switches her phone over to airplane mode and shoves it back into her pocket, the flight attendants are done going over safety precautions and the plane is already positioned on the runway, prepared for take off. She lifts up the cover on the window as the planes takes off and gets one last good look at Georgia. There's nothing but trees blocking the view and a few highways filled with bumper to bumper traffic to look at and is almost identical to every other state as far as appearance. But something about all these things in this one of a kind state, the God awful heat, the weird bugs that sound like crickets on steroids and the red headed treasure she left behind is something she's going to miss more than words can explain.

Take off is bumpy, like always, and it makes Beca's stomach turn-which isn't helped by the large breakfast she ate this morning. The gum Chloe packed for her pops her ears so that's a plus. She shuts her window because now that they're high enough in the skythe longer she looks out, the more dizzy and nauseous she feels. Closing her eyes with easy breaths through the nose, out her mouth helps for a moment and the fan above that's blowing cool air into her face at max level helps calm her stomach down, along with drinking some water she bought back at the gift shop.

After what seemed like years, the seatbelt sign shuts off with a ' _ding'_ and she more than happy to be able to situate herself more comfortably. Her headphones are already wrapped around her neck from before take off and she pulls out her phone to listen to some music-this time picking a playlist with absolutely zero sad songs.

The DayQuil she took back at the gate is already starting to kick in as she feels her eyes starting to get heavy and body turn fatigue. People around her are either doing the same, reading some magazines and books, or sleeping so she figures now would be a good time to join them.

* * *

_**Monday September 19, 4:14 PM** _

This time when Beca gets waken up, it's by horrible turbulence from the plane and the pilot informing people they're heading into a bit of a rough patch but nothing to be worried about. Beca though hears this and snatches the window open quickly to see outside, only to be greeted by dark clouds other than the flashing lights of the plane and rain droplets rolling down the window.

The time on her phone reads that it's been almost the designated five hours and figures the weather isn't the most happiest in California right now. Beca almost thinks it her exact replica of how she feels right now. Dark, sad, weather that only makes her want to sleep and never wake up.

It's depressing honestly.

The woman next to her (still hasn't even gotten the woman's name and they've been airplane buddies already twice now) jokes about the first time they flew together and Beca nearly had a panic attack when she woke up during the landing.

It's not Beca's most cherished memories because one, it was terrifying and two, the embarrassment is still there after the many confused looks throughout the plane she received when she woke up, gasping that they were going to crash. But it's enough to make her laugh and is glad someone has been able to make her feel a little better.

After many violent shakes to the plane and Beca's hands feeling cramped after squeezing the arm rests so incredibly tight, the plane finally lands at the appropriate gate.

She clicks her service back on and smiles sadly when her screen saver hits her in the feels like a semi on a highway. It's just a simple candid picture of Chloe and Tank cuddled up in bed; Chloe with her reading glasses on, Tank snuggled up in between her legs as she reads something on her phone without noticing Beca taking the picture. For as simple as it is, the picture has to be one of Beca's favorites.

On her phone once her data loads back up, missed messages start to vibrate through and banner at the top of her screen.

_**Monday September 19, 3:57 PM** _

_Stacie: I'm already here at pick up! Hurry up and land! I know I'm early but I just couldn't wait any longer! :(_

_**Monday September 19, 2:43 PM** _

_Father: Hey kiddo. Just seeing if you made it okay. I know you're probably flying now but just shoot me a text when you make it back. It was great finally seeing you after all these years and Chloe is a very lovely girl. Hopefully we can plan something again soon._

_**Monday September 19, 3:20 PM** _

_Chloe: Hey! So I was looking through my room and saw that you left your black and white flannel you wore yesterday…._

_**Monday September 19, 4:14 PM (To Stacie)** _

**B: Oh God. Just made it back loser! I'll be down there soon once I get off this metal piece of shit.**

_**(To Father)** _

**B: Hey dad, just landed. Tell Sheila I'm bummed that I didn't get the chance to say goodbye but for sure. Let's plan something else. It was nice seeing you too. Sorry for being a rag all those years.**

_**(To Chloe)** _

**B: Yeah did that on purpose haha**

**B: I may or may not of stolen one of your Barden acapella shirts….Creepy, I know.**

_C: Definitely not creepy because I may or may not be wearing your flannel right this second and was in the process of typing out a message saying I wasn't going to give it back ;)_

_C: It smells just like you._

_**B: Good, I bet it looks better on you than it did on me ;-)** _

**B: That's why I took one of yours. It makes me feel like you're right here with me.**

_C: I never thought missing someone could hurt this much. I miss you Beca._

_C: Tank misses you too. I haven't been able to cheer him up all afternoon, not even with his favorite dog treats :(_

**B: Oh Jesus Beale. There goes my shattered heart.**

**B: I miss you guys too.**

People around Beca are starting to get up from their seats to grab their bags from the overhead bins and decides to shove her phone into her backpack.

"What's your name, dear?" The woman stops once she has her bag out from the top and is about to follow her husband down the walkway of the plane.

"Beca." She smiles and reaches out a hand to formally introduce herself.

"Nice to meet you, Beca. I'm Doris and my husband's name is Jim." The woman takes Beca's out stretched hand delicately. It's so small and cold that it scares her if she were to squeeze any harder the hand would shatter. "It was a pleasure sharing not only one ride with you but two. Hopefully next time we will be paired again. Good luck to you and your girlfriend, sweety. Everything will be okay."

And like that, Doris was gone.

Beca waits until everyone is off the plane before she reaches up to grab her duffle and throw her backpack around her shoulders. She likes to take her time to get situated properly instead of being rushed through the aisle with the impatient people waiting behind the hold up. Thanking the pilot and flight attendants, she heads through the tunnel connected to the airplane's door.

The flight overall wasn't as bad as Beca expected it to be. She slept majority of it like a baby and only woke up when it was time to land, so the time it took flew by. Still, even after sleeping though, she is exhausted and it isn't surprising because she had not even a blink of sleep last night. All she wants to do now is go home, eat something and crash the rest of the day. This weather definitely wasn't helping the gloominess she feels.

Once making it off the plane, she is happy that she doesn't have to walk a few feet to already be drenched in sweat from the humidity. Though, she isn't wearing a jacket and with the heavy amount of rain falling outside there is no doubt that she'll come out drenched her instead.

LAX is easy to maneuver through, unlike Atlanta's foreign airport where Beca was stopping every five seconds to read the signs hanging up at the top for directions, looking like a confused, lost puppy just looking for its mom. There's more people though it seems like and getting from point A to point B was more than a little bit crowded.

After weaving in and out of groups, mostly tourists, Beca makes it to passenger pickup and doesn't take long to find Stacie since the girl is jumping up and down with an embarrassingly large sign reading, "WELCOME HOME MUNCHKIN" and way too many drawn hearts to border the letters.

Beca rolls her eyes with a smirk, seeing the scene Stacie is creating and how the girl isn't even hiding how much she is enjoying it. She doesn't even get the chance to say a proper 'hello' before she is engulfed in a tight bear hug and picked up from the ground like a rag doll.

"I've missed you so much!" Stacie about squeezes Beca's eyeballs out of her skull with the tightness around her shoulders. It's uncomfortable, the swaying is adding to Beca's naseousness from the plane ride and since when did Stacie become so strong?

Beca tries to grumble out a plea for Stacie to drop her but it comes out muffled and on short gasps of air. Getting the hint though, Stacie detaches herself away from Beca and sets her on the ground.

"You're the _worst_." Beca straightens out her clothes after being manhandled by her best friend and sees Stacie starting to tear up with that warning watery smile of hers. "Oh don't you start. I've had enough crying for today."

"I can't help it! I missed you too much!" Stacie ignores all of Beca's demands and sheds a few tears-not a lot- but enough to make her insides warm. She's missed this goofball.

Standing around them once noticing the multiple flashes from cameras and heavy chatter between the all of a sudden crowd, Beca gets a few questions whether or not she is free to take a few pictures with her fans. Welcome to California where Beca's music has only skyrocketed since being in Oregon. Of course her music and image got around the whole world, California seems to be the birthing home of the "Mitchies" fan base as Stacie says. It's a nice gift home-strangely new getting all this attention but nonetheless, enjoyable.

Might as well get use to the attention now before she starts constructing this new album for Diplo.

After taking a few pictures with some fans, Stacie happily steps up and informs the crowd that she is taking the DJ home because she just spent the entire weekend away from her and together they have _a lot_ of catching up to do. Being tugged away, Stacie ushers them through the airport and to her car parked in a spot that a car shouldn't be parked in.

Thankfully, there's quite a large roof above them that blocks the rain and once Beca steps outside, goosebumps rise from her exposed skin instantly at the change of weather. Definitely not the same, scorching temperature she left with back in Georgia that's for sure.

"Okay, you're lucky your ass didn't get towed, ticketed, or something just as bad." Beca chuckles, seeing that familiar looking dark blue SUV with its hazard lights flashing as it's parked on the curb at passenger pick up.

"Hence, why the hazards are on," Stacie retorts proudly and snatches Beca's bag to toss it in the trunk before getting inside the vehicle.

Getting out of the area was a nightmare, having to merge about a hundred times just to get back on highway but with practiced skills and odd Vin Diesel genes, Stacie gets them back on track to go home. Los Angeles is dark now that Beca has the view. Rain droplets roll down the window from the outside and the windshield wipers are moving side to side so fast she thinks they might snap off.

_**Monday September 19, 4:24 PM** _

_C: Did you have a nice flight? :)_

_C: Hope my snacks weren't to heavy on your stomach :(_

_**Monday September 19, 5:05 PM** _

**B: Actually, they were perfect. Thank you :-)**

**B: Yeah, I slept the entire flight until we hit turbulence. But other than that, it was a smooth five hours.**

_C: Good! I'm glad :)_

_C: How's Stacie? I bet she missed you!_

**B: Oh Jesus. Isn't that an understatement.**

**B: She made me a sign and was jumping up and down when she saw me. I swear, she looked like a five year old in a candy shop haha.**

**B: She also started crying which was weirdly warming. I missed her too.**

_C: Awh! That's sweet! :)_

_C: I'm gonna have to remember that the next time I pick you up at the airport ;)_

_C: Even better, maybe add some singing! Start a flash mob..._

**B: Oh God…**

**B: Don't you dare. I don't handle attention well and that there is screaming an audience :-P**

_C: How can you not handle a crowd when you, Beca Mitchell, are going to be the music industry's next big thing?!_

_C: Better get use to the stares now buttercup because soon, you'll be even more famous than you are already :)_

**B: Thing is, music producers stay on the backstreets of things. When's the last time you bought a CD and instantly said, "I'm so in love with this album! I have to meet the producer in Hollywood and get their autograph pronto!"**

_C: Well that hasn't happened yet…_

_C: BUT, Diplo's upcoming album, to answer the question. Heard the producer is a total babe ;)_

_C: Think she'll sign my chest? ;)_

**B: Having eyes for someone else already? I'm hurt Beale. ;-)**

**B: And most definitely she'll sign your chest...**

A waving hand over Beca's screen blocks the keyboard from replying some more. "Helloooo? Earth to Becaaa?" Stacie says slowly, causing Beca to turn off her phone. Was Stacie saying something? "Were you even listening to me?" Welp, that answers her question.

"Shit, no," Beca says simply and honestly. She was so wrapped up in her conversation with Chloe that she blocked out everything else around her. "I'm sorry."

"Damn, munchkin," Stacie clicks her tongue a few times with a shake to her head, earning a confused stare from Beca in return. "I haven't seen you this moonstruck like...ever. Chloe has to be something else."

Beca couldn't stop the twitch curving up from the corners of her mouth even if she wanted too. Just Chloe's name being mentioned is enough to explode some sort of A-bomb inside her gut, filled with pure and utter happiness. She almost felt sick with the amount of butterflies fluttering around-but sick in the throwing up rainbows and cotton candy type of way.

"So, you DTR and dropped the L bomb. Anything else you wanna tell me about your blissful getaway with a flaming hot ginger?" Stacie lists with a devilish smirk.

Beca knew what her friend is waiting for just by the look on her face. It is an expression that oozes mischievous. "I spent the night with her."

Like she just received confirmation that she just won the powerball, Stacie lights up like a Christmas tree. "You spent the night?!" she repeats, her amusement only growing with Beca's returned nod. "And?! Come on, Bec! Give me the juicy deets!"

"There are no... _juicy deets_?" Beca felt weird saying this out loud. For someone who has the brain IQ of Christopher Michael Langan, Stacie sure did talk like an uneducated, high school teenager. "We cooked dinner, ate, then went up to her room to-"

"Have sex? Did a little finger diddling? Tickle the skittle?" Stacie quickly finishes Beca's sentence incorrectly. She did go in pretty confident though.

"What? No. Let me finish!" Beca waits for the wave to continue and zip to the lips before telling Stacie what actually happened. "As I was saying, after dinner we went up to her room and just watched movies all night. We didn't even go to sleep, not wanting to waste a second of our last night together."

Stacie gapes her mouth with a small 'awe,' "well that's ridiculously cute and weirdly out of character for you. Since when do _you,_ of all people, watch movies? Especially all night! I had to cook you dinner for a week just to get you to come see The Fault in our Stars!" Seeing a clear opening, she removes her closest hand off the steering wheel to smack Beca in the gut.

She grunts a laugh at the hit and pushes Stacie's hand back into position on the wheel. "Um, yeah you did! Not only was the movie depressing as shit but also, you made me go out to the theater, just to see the midnight premiere with all the other sobbing girls and whipped boyfriends."

"Sorry I was and currently _**am**_ boyfriendless, and even if I wasn't, there's no way I'd miss the chance to see the big bad wolf Beca Mitchell sniffle over a fictional character's death," Stacie jokes with a nudge to Beca's shoulder.

Pushing Stacie away as she giggles, Beca huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. "I wasn't crying. The tear you saw was from the amount of pain my body was enduring as it sat through that dreadful movie."

"Whatever you say, boo." Beca rolls her eyes, knowing Stacie won in her own head and can't even back it up on her part. It was a sad fucking movie and surprisingly, she has a heart! Sue her. "Anyways, so you're telling me that you and Chloe didn't do the dirty?" Beca nods her head at this. "Like…. _anything_? Jesus, you don't know when you'll be down in Georgia again and you didn't hit _that_?!"

"No I didn't " _hit that,_ " Stacie, God." The disgust is there at the slang. "I mean….. not to brag or anything but I may have hit second base during our intense make out session." Beca offers with a nonchalant shrug.

She couldn't forget this magical moment. No way. But, she kept it on the down low, wanting to avoid all the inevitable flood of questions, or splutters of non English words that Stacie is currently spilling out from her mouth.

"See! You guys did get dirty! I can't believe that wasn't the first thing you told me when I picked you up at the airport!"

"Yeah you know, running across the airport screaming I touched my girlfriend's boobs didn't seem like the appropriate words to exchange in front of others. There were kids around, dummy."

"Birds and the bees, Becs. Children gotta learn from someone."

Incorrigible. Stacie Conrad is incorrigible.

Beca stares while Stacie has her attention on the road. "I don't even know how to respond to that…"

Waving Beca off, "whatever. It must've been pretty damn good because you came back a whole different person. Like….your whole prickly attitude just disappeared and turned it into a cloud of nothing but fluffy softness. Trust me, I loved you with all my heart then but now, it's nice to see you this happy. Strange...but nice."

Stacie adds to Beca's buzzing euphoria after the weekend she just had. What she would do just to rewind time back to the moment she stepped off that plane landing in Georgia just to relive the moments all over again; Chloe and her living in their own little fantasy world with nothing to get in the way.

But this isn't a fantasy. It's the real world, and with this world comes challenges you have to go through whether you like them or not.

Thinking about this isn't really helping Beca move on from the trip, not that she really wanted to. But being less upset and gloomy about being so far away from her girlfriend would be nice since there wasn't anything she could really do. It didn't make her any less closer to Chloe, so why be miserable?

"Enough about me," Beca decides to change the topic. Talking about her relationship-though it is something she could go hours on hours talking about, now just was too soon. "What were you saying before?"

Stacie sparks up, "oh! Well I found a job as a tutor for the science department that pays pretty well. Turns out, not many want to teach a bunch of college students failing their gen eds because they can't pass Gen Chem. So far though, it's been pretty laid back" Stacie shrugged.

"That's awesome, dude!" It was about time that girl got a job she actually enjoyed. Beca doesn't remember the last time Stacie had one that made her want to go to work other than her high school job as a barista at a nearby Starbucks. "Classes going well?"

"Yep! Aubrey helped a lot with the homework I didn't get and now, it seems like I know everything there is to know about molecules, solutions and polymers."

"Speaking of Aubrey," Beca is pleased that it's her turn to do the hassling. "anything going on with…. _that_? You know, thinking about doing the dirty or whatever?" She uses Stacie's words against her with a waggle to her eyebrows.

Stacie ignores this teasing movement and rolls her eyes. "Get your head out of the gutter. No, to answer your question." And she ignores Beca's wry smile as well. "She's fun to talk to, I really like how close we've gotten but long distance relationships are a no for me. I need-"

"Physical contact, sex, hugs and kisses, blah blah blah blah blah. I get it." Beca annoyingly fishes Stacie's words straight from her mouth, having heard it many times before whenever she mentioned the blonde. "I don't know,

As they drive and chat along the way about random things that popped up from the weekend spent apart, Beca glances around at the scenery of the parking lot, noting that they're nowhere near their apartment. She guessed that they've been so caught up in talking that she didn't realize that Stacie was driving in the complete opposite direction of their home.

Stacie parks the car and snatches out her wallet with a smirk that's copied by Beca instantly when she can smell the delicious, heavenly scent radiant off the grill from even inside closed windows.

"Cafe Rio?" Beca questions, already feeling the excitement that dinner is in fact coming early tonight ladies and gents. After not eating during the flight, she is basically starving to death.

Stacie nods her head towards the door. "My treat."

"I love you so much."

* * *

_**Tuesday September 20, 5:35 PM** _

**B: Hey you :-)**

**B: Sorry I'm just now getting back to you.**

_C: Don't you worry rockstar :)_

_C: How was your first day back?!_

**B: Hectic. Boy, this is definitely something else. I'm exhausted, hungry and my brain feels like it's going to burst.**

**B: On the plus side though, Diplo totally digged my samples and I think we've already rough drafted a single to drop as well as some other songs.**

_C: That's exciting! Wow!_

_C: You going to do any vocals for his album? :)_

**B: I thought about what you said and decided to go for it. Of course once I'm featured my image will blow up even more and there goes my chances of hiding under my rock away from all the fame.**

**B: But that's okay I guess.**

**B: I'm going to do vocals for this single actually.**

_C: YAY! :D omg this is awesome Beca!_

_C: Does that mean Selena is doing her own thing with Roger orrrrrr?_

**B: Actually, she's planned to be on the track as well. Did you know the girl can rap? Like mad, Tupac rapper. #Thuglife**

**B: Also having her on the single will definitely put his album even more under the spotlight than it already is.**

_C: OF COURSE Selena can rap. What can't she do? -_-_

**B: You know, I think she can do it all to be honest.**

**B: She was at the studio today. Had my first fangirl moment.**

_C: If anybody else, I'd be happy for you. But it's Selena…. the hottest chick I've seen besides you._

_C: Please tell me she's a stuck up snob to make me feel better. Please. :(_

**B: Haha sorry, no can do. She's the sweetest. Total dork and still a child at heart.**

**B: Her lunch order today was a happy meal from McDonald's…**

_C: Dammit. She's awesome isn't she?_

**B: Yeah she is. Working with her is gonna be fun. Singing with her is going to be even better**

_C: I swear if she even looks at you the wrong way I swear to God I'll fly down there and give her a piece of my own medicine._

**B: What makes you think she'll try something with me? She's straight as an arrow and just got out of a relationship with the Biebs**

_C: No way! That whole thing with Demi!_

**B: Baby, that's such a conspiracy haha. Plus, I doubt she'll try anything with me. She could have anyone!**

_C: You turn heads, babe, make the guys and girls a double look! You're hot Becs! Of course she might try something and I won't allow it!_

**B: I think this is the first time I've actually seen your jealousy surface ;-)**

**B: I have to say, it's sorta fucking hot.**

_C: Good. You're mine Mitchell ;)_

_C: I don't care if it's Selena Gomez, Beyoncé, or Madonna. I'll smack a bitch._

**B: Yes I am ;-) I love this feisty side of you!**

**B: Anyways, what are you up to? How were classes?**

_C: Boring! I'm so glad I'm able to graduate at the end of fall semester. That way I can get my life together instead of worrying about class._

_C: Luckily the elementary school I student teach at is basically now a full time job for me as my online courses are wrapping up._

**B: That's awesome! Plus, you're finished early instead of those torturous six o'clock nights where I wait till you're done :-)**

_C: Yeah it's perfect! Even with the time change I feel like our schedules magically lined up so we could talk more :)_

_C: You work when I work, then I get off and you're still working in the studio but gives me time to do homework. It's great! :D_

**B: Yeah it is :-)**

**B: Hopefully it stays like this.**

**B: I miss you tons. I wish you were here right now.**

_C: I miss you too, baby._

_C: Wanna Skype? :)_

**B: Um, duh. Don't even have to ask if it's an opportunity to see your face.**

_C: Charmer ;)_

_C: Hold on and I'll call you!_

Beca hops off her bed and takes her shoes off that have been on her feet since the moment she walked through her door. Grabbing her laptop, she plops back on the bed as she logs into her Skype account and waits for Chloe to log in.

_***Incoming Skype chat from Chloboxo*** _

"Hey," Beca angles her webcam so there is a clear and focused view of herself. After a while of buffering and freezing, Chloe is seen sitting on her bed with a bright toothy grin.

" _Wow. I miss your beautiful face so much."_ Chloe reaches out with her hand to brush the outlined picture of Beca's face.

"I miss you too." Beca smiles at the gesture, wishing that the touch could be the real thing and not through a fifteen inch screen. "You're wearing my shirt," she notes when she sees the familiar black and white flannel hugging her girlfriend in all the right ways, even through a tiny little camera and definitely flaunting it better than she ever could. She can only imagine how good Chloe actually looks wearing her clothes in person.

Chloe glances down and shrugs. " _Haven't taken it off. It's extremely comfy and soft."_

"It's an old one. The softness probably was added from the amount of times it's been through the washer and dryer."

" _Do I look good in it?"_

"Y-yeah." Beca clears her throat as the word came out as a squeak. The puff to Chloe's chest is what taken Beca so off guard. It seemed like Beca didn't notice the lack of coverage the black tank top underneath had over Chloe's torso and she just received an eye full of her girlfriends cleavage. "Yeah you do."

Chloe smiles giddy, unaware of how her hotness is affecting Beca even from across the country. " _Good!"_ Beca leans over to her table to grab a bottle of meds and when she gets back into frame, Chloe is staring at her with a worried stare. " _You okay?"_

"Yeah. My head just hurts a bit." Beca shrugs, seeing the worry lift off Chloe. "One can only handle so much EDM beats, crammed inside a concealed booth for so long until their heads are rattling from the bass." Beca rubs her temples with a groan, hoping the Advil kicks in sooner than later. "Don't get me wrong, I love the genre; it's where I got my start, most of my ideas for my mixes. But boy, it feels like I'm locked in a nightclub, can't find my keys and lost my phone."

" _Okay, Gaga."_ Chloe jokes, rolling her eyes. " _I cannot wait until the album comes out. Even the single I'm excited for since you're singing in it!_

"Same. I'm just…. I don't know. What if it turns to shit and the album bombs?" Beca shakes her head. These thoughts came constantly throughout the days whenever she'd be at work, or simply laying in bed with her eyes glued to the ceiling. "I'm just scared that I'll somehow mess things up but this time, for a well known celebrity."

" _I reminded you before and I'll remind you again, you're the most talented person I know. What you can do with music is an mind blowing anomaly. Diplo, Roger and even Skrillex saw something in you that they haven't seen before. If they didn't believe you could be the right step in producing Diplo's album, they wouldn't have chose you."_ There isn't so much of a flinch in Chloe's voice. " _You, Beca Mitchell, are going to take the music world by storm and I cannot wait to watch you do it."_

"Thanks, babe." Beca insides warm through a cheeky grin. There's never a day talking to Chloe without the girl inflating her heart to maximum size.

" _Save a Grammy speech for me and we are good."_ Chloe shoots Becaa wink _. "Can we make this like a….thing?"_

Beca furrows her brows. "What do you mean? Skype?"

" _Yeah! Like we have designated days where we have Skype dates and we could watch movies, or listen to music! I can even order you food- even though I'd be eating at like 10, or you'd be eating at 3… just kidding. Maybe we won't eat...but we can do everything else!_

Chloe is adorable. God, it should seriously be a crime with how cute she is. Beca smiles at the amount thought she is putting in the idea and can't help but think it's a great idea. Doing this would make Chloe seem closer, rather than thousand of miles away and that's something she can't turn down.

"I'd love that."

* * *

_**Tuesday September 27, 6:00 PM** _

"Hey you." Beca greets with a smile after the process of calling Chloe through Skype.

" _Already our fourth date night!"_ Chloe claps through the screen sitting on Beca's lap excitedly. Tuesday's and Thursday's were their date nights when planning them and have been keeping track of them so far. " _What are our plans for tonight since it's your turn to pick."_

"I was thinking movie again, you get to pick...as long as it isn't another one of the cheesy, chick flicks. Enlighten me with some killing robots, or raunchy comedies. Hell, even choose a scary movie!" Chloe laughs as Beca rambles.

" _For someone with a strong hatred for movies, you sure are watching a lot of them."_ Chloe tsks with a teasing smirk and shake to her head.

"Shush. But before we do that, I want to introduce you to someone." Chloe knits her brows together, probably confused to who else is joining them during their date night since it's always been just the two of them and Beca could only buzz with excitement as she reaches over to the side of her bed, out of frame so Chloe couldn't see the surprise and grabs the mystery guest.

Making sure everything is in frame, Chloe about breaks Beca's speakers on her laptop with her squeals when a tiny, palm size kitten fills the webcam screen with a high pitched meow. " _Oh my God! Oh my God!"_ She smacks her hand over her mouth to hide the gushing but really, Beca can see it dripping from her eyes.

"Chloe, this is Buttercup. Buttercup, this is Chloe, my beautiful girlfriend." Chloe squeals again and if possible, louder this time.

Originally, getting a pet wasn't a planned thing on the agenda but obviously it became a thing. All this happened when Stacie and her took a trip to the shelter where Stacie volunteers at and a lady brought in a box full of kittens that were ready to be adopted. Making the mistake of looking into the box of pure cuteness, Beca's eyes immediately were glued to a tiny ball of orange furred kitten with icy blue eyes and couldn't for the life of her let the thing go. Next thing was, she found herself at a local Petco picking up a litter box and some toys for the kitten to play with.

The name for the kitten came instantly after comparison to Chloe, knowing that infamous nickname she was given as they continued talking. It only made sense to call her Buttercup and Stacie couldn't agree more.

" _She is so cute! Why did you get a kitten?! I thought Stacie and you didn't want any pets?!"_

"Well you see, that was the case until my eyes caught a glimpse of this cutie and all my toughness was shattered." Beca snuggles her nose into the side of the kitten's face and receives a barely audible meow that leaves Chloe almost in tears. "I haven't been the most chipper lately. You know, missing you and all... but Stacie insisted on us adopting her the moment my entire body lit up, claiming that this fur ball would get my groove back."

" _I miss you too, so much but oh my God! She is the cutest little thing! And her eyes! They're so blue!"_ Chloe leans in closer to get a better look while Beca lifts Buttercup towards the camera to help.

"Yeah, she reminded me of you." Beca smiles cheesy, giddy and very uncharacteristic. Leave it to a small kitten to turn her hard interior into a pile a gooey mush. "The orange fur, the blue eyes, and how she basically climbed up the box into my arms was a clear indicator that she as well doesn't understand personal boundaries."

" _Oh, baby that's sweet. I can't get over this cuteness!"_

"I'm hope you don't mind the new guest joining us on our date night. I haven't been able to leave with her following me. I'm basically a fridge and this cat is the magnet."

" _Of course I don't mind! Tank is with Aubrey right now and he's been present on our previous Skype dates, so it's only fair."_

"Cool." Beca sets the kitten down next to her and scoots back on the bed so her back is flat against the mattress. Doing this gives Buttercup the opening to the divot in between her neck and chest. She doesn't waste a second before crawling up Beca to make herself a comfy bed to sleep. Beca winces at the sharpness and pain coming from the claws when Buttercup fluffs the cotton of her shirt before curling into a small, purring ball of fur below her chin as Chloe "awes" at the entire thing.

"Okay, princess. You good now?" Beca teases the kitten laying comfortably on her chest and only gets a squeaky meow as an answer.

" _I need to get a picture of this!"_ Chloe fumbles around over her sheets until she is manhandling her cell phone and lifting it up to snap a photo.

She tells Beca to say cheese and Beca rolls her eyes with her signature smirk and just before Chloe clicks the picture, Buttercup lifts her head from her paws for a picture that looked posed.

Chloe squeals probably for the millionth time tonight as she examines the masterpiece on her phone. " _This is going on every single one of my social medias, by the way."_

"Oh yay," Beca snorts sarcastically. "Destroy my badass rep why don'tcha, Beale." Chloe doesn't answer other than the tossed flirty wink, too busy being occupied by uploading the photo on God knows where.

As Beca waits for Chloe to finish, her phone vibrates off the charger. She picks up the device, thinking its a notification that Chloe just tagged her in a photo but nearly drops her phone when it's not from Chloe, but a person she hardly ever texts in the first place.

_**Tuesday September 27, 6:35 PM** _

_Aubrey Posen: Hello, Beca._

**B: …**

**B: Uh, hello?**

_Aubrey Posen: How are you?_

**B: …..fine?**

**B: Don't take this the wrong way...but why are you texting me?**

_Aubrey Posen: Can't I have a friendly, innocent chat with my best friend's girlfriend?_

_Aubrey Posen: We had lunch together, Beca. That makes us pretty darn close._

**B: Uh, no it doesn't.**

**B: And I have another thing going in my head that's telling me this conversation is anything but "innocent"**

_Aubrey Posen: Oh but it is. I'm just stopping by to say hello. See how things are doing. Miss Georgia yet? How's work? I heard you are doing vocals for one of Diplo's singles. Also working with Selena._

**B: Oh totally. The sweating buckets is just not the same up here at perfect, seventy degree weather.**

**B: But yeah. She and I are featured because Diplo isn't much of a singer. Trust me, I know.**

_Aubrey Posen: Well that's exciting. Ever since that snapchat of you singing Bieber got leaked through Twitter that Chloe showed me, I thought your voice was something deserved to be heard._

**B: Oh… Are you telling me that you, Aubrey Posen, the one person who called me "some alt girl with some madlib beats and ear monstrosities" are following my music? ;-)**

**B: A little bird told me that you're a proud Mitchie ;-)**

_Aubrey Posen: I will neither confirm nor deny._

_Aubrey Posen: I never had a problem with your voice and music you create. I just think your wardrobe could be….broaden more. You know, get away from the raccoon eyes and flannels. You look like a emo sixteen year old at a punk festival._

**B: Haha Ouch!**

**B: See, and here I was thinking this convo was innocent. I'm wounded.**

_Aubrey Posen: I doubt a big bad celeb like you cares about what a pre-med student like me thinks. I'm sure Chloe will help you wipe away your tears with your piles of money._

_Aubrey Posen: Speaking of fame and Chloe._

**B: Here we go…..the grand finale.**

_Aubrey Posen: I didn't get the chance to say this before you left and don't want to dwell nor waste my time with endless threats if you hurt Chloe because one, you make her the happiest I've ever seen her. And two, believe it or not, I like you._

**B: Are you sure you're not just saying that because you want backstage tickets somewhere? ;-)**

_Aubrey Posen: Shut up, Mitchell. I'm serious. The amount of times I catch Chloe smiling down at her phone or your name spilling from her lips is enough to move out and write a book about it._

**B: She makes me happy too. It's actually scary how happy she makes me.**

" _Okay! They're all uploaded!"_ Chloe tosses her phone down to the side with a smile. Now, Beca is waiting for the endless comments and likes on the photo, knowing she has seconds before her phone starts blowing up with notifications. " _I'm going to go to the bathroom before we start okay?"_

"Yeah no. Go ahead." Beca waves her off, more focused on her current conversation with Aubrey.

_Aubrey Posen: I also heard you two shared the L word during date night._

**B: It was time, I felt it.**

**B: I don't regret it either because it's true. I love her.**

_Aubrey Posen: Good. Because, Jesus Beca. This girl is so in love with you that it should be worrying._

_Aubrey Posen: So as my duty of a best friend, it's my job to make sure no one does anything to hurt her. I don't care how famous you are, who you talk to, and how far away you live. If you EVER hurt Chloe, you are going to wish you were dead. Don't test me, Mitchell._

_Aubrey Posen: I've had experience handling twelve acapella girls. Let's just say if they were to break an oath, their vocal cords would be ripped out by wolves._

**B: Jesus Christ..**

**B: Noted. I don't plan on hurting Chloe.**

_Aubrey Posen: Good. Just keep that in mind._

_Aubrey Posen. Well, as much as I love talking to you, this conversation is over._

**B: I thought you wanted to actually talk to me Posen, not threaten me! We are lunch buddies remember?!**

_Aubrey Posen: I'd want nothing more than to talk to you… BUT, I have more important things to do._

**B: Like what? Talk to Stacie? ;-)**

_Aubrey Posen: No.._

**B: Speaking of the devil! How is…. that going?**

_Aubrey Posen: Goodbye Beca!_

Beca chuckles to herself, amused that bringing up Stacie was enough to have Aubrey avoid the topic. She doesn't know how but she'll get down to the core of what is really going on between the two of them.

Chloe jumps onto the bed, situating herself back to a comfortable position with the laptop in her lap. " _Sorry about that!"_ She rearranges herself comfortably.

"Don't worry. I was kept company from the one and only." Chloe knits her brows together and cocks her head to the side. "Aubrey."

" _Oh really? What did she say?"_

"I'm pretty sure she just threatened to rip my vocal cords out by wolves if I hurt you..." Beca let her voice shift to a tease, hiding the obvious terror she had towards what could possibly be true or not. Where would Aubrey even find wolves? And is that even possible?

" _Oh no. She didn't scare you away did she? The best friend talk with my past exes never went too well. If it makes you feel better Aubrey is all bark no bite."_

"Debatable." Beca would never say it out loud but Aubrey has a front about herself that she carries and it terrifies her. Maybe joking with the blonde is more than a little bit amusing but Beca knows she's testing her luck with a shot to the throat.

" _Since on the topic, I'm still waiting for the friendly chat from Stacie now that we're talking about this."_ Chloe chuckles.

"Yeah, Stacie is more of the "face to face" confrontation person." Beca shrugs casually and Chloe's eyes stretch wide. "She's probably saving her breath, waiting to meet you."

Chloe releases a hitchy sigh and runs a hand through her hair. " _Oh, lovely."_

Beca smiles, enjoying the body language of Chloe tense. She knew Stacie is a polar opposite of Aubrey when it comes to scaring the people she dates. Having that protective nature though, Stacie makes sure whoever it is that is given the talk knows that they're in trouble if they hurt her.

Or that is what she thinks. She's never heard the other end of the story when Stacie was alone with her exes. They were either too scared to speak, or respected the privacy of the talk. Probably the first one because they never ended up staying, hence being exes. Also, Beca doesn't really know what happened when Stacie would ask for their phone numbers and or addresses. Anyways.

What was she talking about again? Oh yeah!

In reality when it comes to Stacie's best friend talk, Chloe has nothing to worry about.

As far as Beca knows, that is.

"You ready for this movie, dork?" Her neck is getting sweaty with the cat sleeping on her neck, Netflix is loaded up on Beca's TV with the movie _Bring It On_ on pause and has a bowl of popcorn seated next to her. Beca sees Chloe staring off into the distant, most likely cueing up the movie.

" _You know it!"_

* * *

**_Tuesday October 4, 3:34 PM_ **

To say that getting back into the groove of things was an easy task to accomplish is all just a big bag of bullshit. Waking up was hard for Beca; she knew it was another boring day finishing up her University classes and heading off to work for the rest of the day with Chloe on the other side of the country doing God knows what.

However, after the last load of the struggle bus, she finally got back on track with her job, managing among studio time appropriately and getting her school work done, as well as making all the free time she had left for Chloe. For a while, Stacie was getting nervous that she wouldn't be able to bounce back after the weekend spent with Chloe down in Georgia but was relieved to catch her one morning, cooking up breakfast for the two of them before Stacie headed to her morning classes and Beca went off to work.

It was a nice change for Stacie not to basically barge into Beca's barely lit room, jumping over the plethora of food boxes scattered along the floor just in effort to drag the saddened zombie Beca was out of bed to get the day started.

Beca knew throughout the three weeks she was on the dramatic side of how she should be handling this split from Chloe. She also knew leaving was going to be the hardest thing she ever had to do in her life and being right, a whole two weeks of being a hermit was there to back that up. The both of them were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, not really wanting to be thousands of miles apart to share the euphoria that came with the new label on their relationship.

But they were able to make the most of the time talking to their advantage. It wasn't easy. Hell, people don't say long distance relationships are the hardest to stick through for nothing.

They fell into a routine; Chloe would have designated times when she'd call Beca after work on the days she was busy student teaching and Beca would make sure she was either out of the studio or free to chat no matter how long the phone call lasted. Other days, it would be Beca's turn to set up phone calls when she let Chloe know in advance the extra studio time she set up for Diplo.

Things like these started falling into place. The distance was still extremely hard to overcome but everyday talking to Chloe somehow made it that much easier.

That was until her job was becoming more and more hectic as they were polishing up the new single for Diplo's highly anticipated album she has taken into her own hands. It also seemed to get even more crazy with the split studio time with Selena and found herself trapped inside the booth with the girl's insane schedule. This, along with doing her own recording for the song, gave Beca very little time to talk to Chloe the past few days. They still talked, don't get her wrong. They still had their Skype dates even though they were cut moe than half and Beca barely was able to stay awake or online long enough before she had to go to sleep for an early day, same with Chloe.

But the good mornings texts and the goodnight texts can only be tolerated for so long until you feel that hole in your heart growing after missing someone too much.

_**Tuesday October 4, 3:34 PM** _

**B: God! The first day in three weeks that I've gotten off of work somewhat early!**

**B: Thank God for the finished single. I need this break…**

_C: Hey baby! :)_

_C: I'm glad you're off! Seems like I haven't talked to you in awhile other than the few check up texts here and there._

**B: I'm sorry Chlo. Work has been kicking my ass. Plus the time I do get out of work is already late enough California time not to mention down in Georgia.**

**B: Anything I can do to make up lost time?**

_C: Don't apologize for your job, babe. I'm super proud of you and can't wait to hear the single you've been working so hard for!_

_C: That's enough to make up everything :)_

**B: Really? There's nothing else I can do?**

**B: Not even…. a Skype date later tonight, just the two of us, sharing a delicious box of unhealthy pizza (virtually) while watching today's awful movie choices?**

**B: Tonight is our night...**

_C: Hmm, very tempting Mitchell ;) Especially when I have the entire day off tomorrow..._

_C: Do I get to pick the movie? Even a romcom? Or even better! I think they put Magic Mike XXL on Netflix!_

**B: ….**

**B: Just kidding. I changed my mind.**

_C: Lol! Nope!_

_C: That's exactly how you can make up for lost time Mitchell! ;)_

**B: Um okay? Having my girlfriend ogle over naked men while I watch it with her on the other side of the country?**

**B: That doesn't sound pleasant :-(**

_C: Oh come on! You know that I'll be looking at you the entire time anyway ;)_

_C: Half naked men who can dance have NOTHING on you buttercup ;)_

**B: Fine…**

**B: Speaking of Buttercup, she doesn't agree with the choice of movie but finally being able to see your face again is total worth it.**

_C: Awh! Make sure she is there tonight and I'll bring Tank!_

_C: I'm excited for a real date night with you :) It feels like forever since we got to sit down and watch something or fall longer than a ten minute intermission._

**B: Yeah I know. But I'm glad I have the rest of the day off and most of the morning to talk.**

**B: Better keep your schedule open because these next hours are designated for me :-)**

_C: Don't you worry. My time is your time ;)_

Stacie creeps open Beca's shut door and walks in with a way too happy grin for being one who just got done with classes before dropping her school bag to the ground and jumping across to land nearly on Beca's sprawled legs. She huffs the overthrown hair draped over face when landing on the bed and twists herself comfortably to get a good look at Beca.

"Hey, munchkin. What you up to?" The suspicious smile is still glowing across Stacie's mouth and with the added casual greeting it only sparks up Beca's suspicion.

"Nothing?" Beca responds slowly, her eyebrow inching up higher by the second. "What's with….all this?" she raises her finger and twirls it in the direction of Stacie's wry smirk.

"Oh nothing…" Stacie hints, her voice abnormally higher than usual and there was a hint of something hidden underneath the words. "When were you going to tell me we got invited to a house party hosted by the one and only Diplo tonight?!"

Shit. Beca sort of forgot about that. She remembers him dropping the invitation to her through text since he wasn't in the studio today but also remembers him bringing it up nonchalantly in the past. The party wasn't planned to be anything big, just most of Atlantic, other artists and close friends of his. He wanted to lay back after being cooped up in the studio for so long and since Beca's team are getting a solid chunk of work done on his album, what better way than to host a little something to get their creative minds a rest.

What Beca doesn't know is how Stacie found out about this but then it clicks that after Diplo found out about Stacie being her best friend who happens to share an apartment with, he followed her through twitter. They met once when Stacie dropped off lunch to Beca at work and other than the hardcore fangirl moment Stacie had when she was greeted by the blonde DJ himself, the two of them clicked.

"Damn, that's tonight?" Beca tries to cover up with a tight lip smile and a surprised glare. In her defense, everything going on in her life is becoming one big giant whirlwind of a mess. Things were starting to blend together when they shouldn't.

It is difficult to keep track of everything going on.

"Yes it's tonight! He sent out a mass DM through Twitter and you wanna know who was on the guest list of people?" Beca nods her head, wondering who could possibly be the culprit to have Stacie going nuts over. "Zedd! Freaking Zedd is going to be there! You know he's one of my top favorite DJs other than you, B."

This is very true. Almost all of the girl's workout playlists has every song done by him, or every song he has been featured in. Stacie is a total groupie for this dude.

But to be honest, Beca had no idea that he was even going to make it. Diplo and him work for two completely different labels. She guessed that they are friends somehow, whether it was because of their similar music genre, or that fact that all DJs must stick together like a cult. Whatever it was, Beca can't even lie and say the possibility of meeting Zedd doesn't light a small ember in her veins.

"I really, _really_ want to go Stace. Trust me. Diplo has been on my ass about making an appearance so we could brag out the single coming up…" Beca says as Stacie smile grows more and more hopeful. "But I can't." Stacie's smile immediately curves downward into a frown, killing her buzz instantly. "I have a Skype date with Chloe tonight that I really don't want to bail on." She lifts her phone up for backup. "Why don't you go a ahead and go? I'm sure he'll be more than stoked to see you there."

Not expecting the abrupt change in attitude, Beca is startled by the rough scoff exiting from Stacie under her breath. "Jesus, Beca. You know I love you with all my heart and I'm a hundred percent team Chloe but seriously this is unfair. Ever since you've started talking to her you completely kicked me to the streets." She laughs a low chuckle with a shake to her head but even Beca knows it is forced and doesn't mean a damn thing.

This is not only news to Beca but it's also shocking. Very rarely does she witness Stacie so upset about things and expect for a handful of times in the past has she ever been the reason to cause the shift in behavior. "What do you mean?" Has she really been so caught up in Chloe to not realize Stacie felt this way? If so, that's enough to make her feel like the shitiest person alive.

Stacie sighs, "lately, everything has been Chloe this, Chloe that and with your crazy work schedule, me at school, we've barely spent any time together." Her words aren't nearly as sharp as before and the volume to her tone has drop significantly. "Whenever I ask to hang out, you are either working on your tracks for work, or talking to Chloe."

Beca knows that Stacie would never be the one to blame her absence on work. Her job pays for the bills and Stacie isn't one to hold that against her. But what she does know is that when she does have the time off from the studio, she goes straight for her room to talk with Chloe. The time there isn't equal on both sides and if Stacie and Chloe were a titter totter, majority of the weight would be on Chloe's end.

Stacie begins again, "and when we _do_ hang out, your mind is elsewhere, preferably glued to a certain redhead and I can tell with your lack of focus that you'd much rather be talking to her."

Beca's heart deflated hearing this, seeing Stacie admit so honestly. She never thought about how absent she has been lately and never took into relaxation at how Stacie might feel about it.

"I understand Chloe's your girlfriend and your job is real fuckin' important. But all I'm saying is that I miss you." Stacie's sad eyes fall down to her hands that are playing with the sheets on top of Beca's bed. It kills her to see Stacie hurting about this so much. "Like a ton. I miss our crazy adventures, our late night dinners, the meaningless car rides to the goonies, someone to talk to about everything that's going on in my life." She lists with a smile at the memories and sure enough, Beca mirrors the expression. Those were nights for the books. "I miss my _best friend."_

Beca opens her mouth then closes it, prepared to say something but it was all lost with the change in atmosphere when she got a real good look at her friend. Stacie is a strong woman. Probably the strongest woman Beca has ever had the pleasure of meeting and being so lucky to be taken under the giant's wing to be considered a best friend. But seeing her now, so weak and fragile is almost hard to look at.

"I'm so sorry, Stace." Beca apologizes sincerely, feeling even more awful by saying it out loud. "It's just….distance fucking sucks and I feel like the time throughout my days is practically nonexistent. I feel like an octopus trying to juggle everyone and everything around to share time but obviously with only ball." Beca meets Stacie's eyes with a frown. "That ball being, Chloe."

"And I understand that, Beca. You want to spend every waking minute talking to the girl you love!" Yeah, Beca can see that Stacie understands this but deep down, she knows that it isn't what Stacie prefers. It's not even that she thinks Stacie is jealous about the situation. It's a weird feeling she is getting though. "I know Chloe wants to do the same thing, trust me. Aubrey might not be talking about this to Chloe but with me, she tells me how much she's has also been shut out by her best friend."

This isn't what Beca wants; Stacie to feel like she doesn't deserve any of her time. She doesn't even want Aubrey to feel that way but yet, it's still happening.

"I guess…. I just didn't realize how one tracked my mind has been. I'm sorry." Beca deflates at the apology again, the words coming out as repetitive and meaningless as the honest reality still pains her heart. She never wanted Stacie to feel like this. To feel thrown away.

"I know you are. All of this is new to you and you don't know how to go about it the right way yet." Stacie reaches out to rest a gentle hand over Beca's bent knee. The touch is nice; it's a sign that Beca hasn't completely demolished her relationship with Stacie to the ground. "I'm not asking for you to drop everything and give me your full attention twenty four seven. God knows I'll get sick of you." Her lips twitch into a small wavering smile when Beca rolls her eyes.

"All I'm asking for is a balance. Gingers don't have souls but I know they'll be okay with sharing."

Beca snickers hearing this. It's not even Chloe keeping Beca from Stacie. Actually, Chloe would never purposely make Beca chose from the two. This entire situation is Beca's fault, no one else's. She wasn't able to split the time equally and only now, one of the few people who mean the world to her is hurting.

Bobbing her head back and forth in thought, "okay, let's go-" Beca doesn't even finish before Stacie and the girl's amazon length are smothering her limbs with a tight hug. Stacie squeals a few dozen times in a pitch that could break glass and then she hops off the bed, bouncing on the heels of her feet.

"We don't have to stay for long! I know you barely talked to Chloe over the weeks with work and stuff so I get why tonight means so much to you." Stacie rushes, the corners of her mouth almost touching her ears. "A couple hours sound good?" she negotiates with a shrug and Beca smiles with a nod. Getting out to spend time with Stacie is needed and also a few hours won't hurt-even if she has to push the planned Skype date back a little.

"Deal."

And Stacie hugs Beca one last time before scurrying to her room to get changed. Beca also figures that she should start getting ready as well since the party is coming up shortly. And since she can't stay long, might as well get there on time.

_**Tuesday October 4, 3:45 PM** _

_C: Usual time for our date night? :)_

_**Tuesday October 4, 3:54 PM** _

**B: Yeah about that. Diplo is hosting a party tonight that I completely forgot about.**

_C: Oh, okay then._

_C: So do you need to cancel?_

**B: No! No I don't need to cancel. I was just thinking that since the party is starting at 6ish for a barbecue which is the usual time for our date, I was thinking we could start at 8…? Is that too late?**

_C: Nope! Remember I have tomorrow off :)_

_C: But really, babe. If you need to cancel, you can. I'm not going to say I won't be upset because I feel like my time with you is shortening by the day and was super excited to see your face. But I understand this is your job and need to go out and have fun. I don't want to be the reason you don't have a social life._

**B: Honestly, the party scene isn't really my...thing. I'm only going for a few hours to make an appearance. I'd much rather spend all night with you, Chlo.**

_C: Okay, okay okay okay :D_

_C: I'm excited! It's been a while!_

**B: I know! But I promise I'll be back to watch whatever you want :-)**

_C: Sounds good! :)_

* * *

_**Tuesday October 4, 5:56 PM** _

Diplo's house is illegally gorgeous; Beca concludes when the GPS systems informs them that they made it to their destination. Inside is even more fancy than the outside-if possible, with the glass doors and windows bordering the lower level, the spiral staircase to a balcony upper level where people were leaning off the edge. If MTV Cribs was still going on, there was no way this house wouldn't be featured. The square feet of the place Beca couldn't even estimate with the amount of bodies crowding the area but she can guess the house cost millions.

Majority of the people there were people she didn't know. Most of them were the team back at Atlantic. She assumed that a few hundred people in the "celeb world" was a kick back to them unlike for college, it's the next Project X or something.

Popularity never came as a dream for Beca unless it had to do with her music and her sound getting out there. As far as friends or the hot "cliques" that sat in the VIP section during high school lunches those weren't much in Beca's interest. She had a solid base of kick ass friends and didn't need a few thousand more just for numbers. Dressing up alone wasn't something that sparked her interest and she revolved around the sweatpants, no make up and sitting snuggled up in the sheets of her bed at home. Of course she'd venture out a weekend here and there, not having a choice as she is friends with a very demanding Australian but by nature, she is a homebody.

So, experiencing this party in the flesh with celebrities Beca has only be inspired by over the years rounding every counter of the house, congratulating her on the album is definitely an….experience.

Surreal that's for sure.

Thinking she's seen enough, the backyard of the literally took her breath away, with the four by four square bricks placed like a checkerboard in the freshly cut, green grass that surrounded the pool and jacuzzi. There's also a bar outside and waiters going around taking orders and serving drinks and Beca feels like she is definitely out of place. At least for the most part the scene is on the fancy side of casual. There is girls walking around in thousand dollar dresses you'd see on the red carpet or guys flaunting tuxedos.

It makes her feel better about only wearing a nice blouse, her nicest pair of black jeggings and heeled boots.

"You made it!" It took a while to find him through the large crowd of people but eventually, Diplo's greets Beca and Stacie out back by the pool where he has his shirt off, wearing a pair of swim trunks and is being the true grill master, cooking up burgers and hot dogs. He gives her a side hug and does the same with Stacie. "Glad you came, shorty. Didn't think you would."

Beca rolls her eyes at the stuck nickname she got blessed with with her first encounter with the DJ, "we have some bragging to do, remember?" Beca quirks her eyebrow with a smirk.

"Damn right we do. How's the girl? You didn't give her any sneak peeks of the song did you?" Diplo squints his eyes towards Beca suspiciously.

"She's good! I actually can't stay long, probably a few hours because we have a date tonight but no. I haven't. She bugs me constantly but I want it to be a surprise when it drops." Beca answers honestly and can be seen that Diplo is surprised by her response. She may be whipped when it came to Chloe but when it came to music, she kept her word.

"What about this one?" Diplo gestures his head over to Stacie with a smirk. "You let her listen to a sample?"

"Pshh, no!" Stacie answers for Beca. "But believe me, I've tried multiple times to sneak through the files on her laptop to find the song." Hearing this is a surprise and Beca smacks her friend in the stomach at the lack of privacy she has.

"Good job." Throwing an arm over Beca's shoulder, "now come on. I have a line of people wanting to meet my producer who may or may not be possible clients for future albums." Beca gawks her mouth at this. People are wanting to work with her? Oh my God. "Did I mention one of them being Jay-Z?" He pulls her over to the sliding doors to go back inside as Stacie goes on a hunt for a certain DJ.

And okay, Beca is so freaking glad she came out tonight.

* * *

_**Tuesday October 4, 11:46 PM** _

Beca doesn't really know where the time went as the night progressed. It was like one minute she was going around the house with Diplo by her side, amping the hype around their new single that was about to drop and then next, she is taking a line of shots with Selena freaking Gomez in the kitchen, surrounded by an audience of cheers from others around them watching.

She remembers briefly about the conversation with the celeb, retorting with confidence that she could out drink Selena after the multiple height jabs she received from the girl, saying she is probably a light weight with nowhere to store all the alcohol in her tiny frame. Of course she couldn't just walk away from that without proving something so, that's what led to Skrillex pouring the liquor in seven, individual shot glasses with a megaphone to announce the competition.

And maybe it wasn't the best idea to take part in because she might have went into the kitchen over confident with proving Selena wrong while clearly the girl had a liver of pure steel.

In conclusion, Beca can't handle her liquor well and Selena definitely can.

During this time, Beca isn't drunk yet, but knows the line of Ciroc she just swallowed like water mixed with the few beers she had before is about to catch up with her real soon. She decides that finding a place to sit is a good idea before that time comes and as she finds an open couch outside, Selena plops down right next to her.

"How are things going with your ginger? Chloe right? I feel like I can't get online without someone talking about your relationship. You guys are very cute." Selena laughs and Beca has heard the sound nut plus times in the studio recording but still to this day, the laugh sounds like a child's. She also doesn't even sound or act the slightest bit of drunk and Beca thinks it's absolutely insane because she feels the complete opposite.

"We are soooo great!" Beca thinks she is starting to slur her words; she also can't really feel her mouth moving due to the sudden numbness around the area-which isn't a good sign so she doesn't really know if she's talking at all. "The distance is...realllly hard but we make it work. I actually have a Skype date ton-"

Beca completely freezes when the words leave her mouth. She sees a waving hand in front of her face and Selena talking something to her with a puzzled stare but everything around her goes mute.

"What time is it?" Beca manages to ask all of a sudden. She'd check for herself but she ended up leaving the device in the car before even entering Diplo's house because she didn't want to test her luck by losing it.

Her heart races at the anticipation while Selena scavenges for her phone and her eyes about burst from her skull when she hears the exact time.

"Shit." Beca grumbles under her breath. Selena stares at the complete three sixty spin in behavior but is too late to ask what's wrong before Beca is pulling herself up from the couch and walking away. "Shitshitshitshitshit." She curses some more, this time louder as the reality sinks in. There's a slight chance Chloe could still be up. There's also a slight chance that she could be livid at Beca for ditching their Skype date when she promised she wouldn't miss. Beca knows she'd be pissed if the tables were turned. Basically she just stood up Chloe and that's the thought that kills Beca the most.

Wobbling inside after pushing through people, the alcohol doing some intense damage to her balance and vision, she finds Stacie chatting with Zedd (of course) and yanks her out of conversation with a pull to her arm.

"I need the keys! I left my phone in there!" Beca yells but can tell Stacie doesn't understand what she is saying due to them being in the worst area to have a conversation with the EDM music blaring.

"I can't hear you! The music's too loud!" Stacie gestures around the room.

"GIVE ME THE KEYS TO THE CAR!" Beca uses her high volume in voice, red in the face, and luckily Stacie hears her this time. Taking the keys without answering Stacie's questions, asking if she's alright, she practically runs to the car to find her phone.

Out of the glove box and all coming from Chloe, her screen lights up with a few missed calls, a voicemail and a couple text messages. She listens to the voicemail which came before the text message

_**Tuesday October 4, 8:35 PM** _

_***New voicemail from Chloe Beale*** _

_"Hey, Beca. Just wondering where you are. I'm assuming you're either running a bit late. Call me back when you get this."_

Prepared for a serious amount of yelling through the voicemail, Beca is surprised that she gets the opposite. Chloe's voice is weak and fragile. Her tone is low, barely audible and Beca thinks if Chloe spoke any louder, she'd end up crying with the tremble hidden underneath her words. She removes the phone from her ear when the voicemail ends and clicks over to the unread messages next.

_**Tuesday October 4, 10:43 PM** _

_C: It's me again. I figure you got caught up with the party and can connect the dots to say our date isn't happening tonight._

_C: I'll talk to you later, Beca._

As a reflex, Beca hits Chloe's name to call her back, not taking into consideration that she is very much drunk and isn't in the right state to be apologizing for blowing off their date and probably would make it worse. But she doesn't think about that as the phone rings; her main focus is to give a sincere apology. Not being able to do this though, the call goes to voicemail, leaving Beca to listen to Chloe's bubbly voice unlike before.

" _Hi! You've reached Chloe Beale. Sorry I cannot answer your call but please leave your name and number and I pinky promise to get back to you as soon as I can!"_

Inwardly, Beca tries to call her again and gets the same results. Maybe she tried a few more times after that but she's not really sure. What she does know is that it was her job to keep track of time but even that she was unable to do.

She messed up.

Fuck, she really messed up this time.


	13. New Arrangements

_**Wednesday October 5, 12:02 AM** _

Somehow in the past ten minutes or so, Beca has managed to call Chloe more times than she can count on two hands. It's late; she knows this, especially in Georgia where it's three in the morning. The signs are right there in front, telling her that Chloe is either A). too pissed off to talk to her, or B). probably passed out, sleeping. But her brain isn't connecting with her heart right now and all she wants to do is hear Chloe's voice so she could pour her heart out in apologies.

Also in the process of hitting redial on her phone an illegal amount of times, she sets up a time through Uber so she can leave Stacie here, not wanting to drag her friend out of a pretty rad party, just because she pulled a dick move and stood up her girlfriend.

Getting inside the house is a struggle to say the least. After sitting for so long, the alcohol took the chance and caught up with her like a wrecking ball, making everything and everyone a blurry image. The living room is spinning, the music is abnormally loud as it pulses through her ears and she chats with tons of people who stop her on her mission to give the keys back to Stacie but ends up forgetting the entire conversation moments later.

Half the time she doesn't recall even responding to these people and just pulls out the smile and nod card no matter what they are saying. Really, she could've just signed her life away and not having a single clue.

Scavenging the living room area, she finds Stacie right where she left, still talking to Zedd and some added people she isn't too familiar with. She stumbles her way over, pushing through people and trying her very hardest not to visibly show how intoxicated she truly is.

"Beca!" Stacie catches her first, seeing Beca out of her peripherals. She holds a finger up to Zedd and wraps one of those tree trunks for arms around Beca's shoulders. "What's wrong? Are you okay? You kinda ran out of here earlier."

Beca can see that Stacie is talking to her, not fully able to take in the words since the music is blaring in the background. She _does_ hear something along the lines of asking if she is okay-which she is most definitely not. So, being her classy drunk self, slurs to Stacie that she has called for someone to pick her up and take her back to the apartment, eyes gradually floating shut as she speaks while her body sways.

"Chloe hates me," Beca does slip this out towards the end and receives multiple furrows to the brows around the group standing close enough to hear.

"What?" Stacie asks, suddenly worried if she heard her right. She's not nearly as drunk as Beca currently is (thanks to her ego for dissolving her liver) so she can see Beca's state and starts to shift to mom mode. "Beca, are you okay?"

Beca thinks she shakes her head as a response but isn't too positive.

She is about to give a real answer but her phone chimes off in her hand and there is an alert that her Uber driver just arrived. She doesn't give a verbal response to Stacie's pleas, asking if she is okay and just answers with a sloppy smile and a wave to the hand. Because next thing is, she is teleported from a hot and humid room to a slight breeze and the smell of the post barbeque Diplo cooked up.

Outside, there's a lone Jeep Wrangler with its lights on and she assumes that's her ride, matching the description from when she set up her driver. But there is a small chance since the piles of cars parked next to Diplo's house are there as well and that it could be some rando's car she is currently strutting up to.

God, she hopes this is her ride because if not, she is totally throwing herself into a total stranger's vehicle who's unaware of her presence.

Luckily through her blurred vision, the stranger greets Beca with a welcoming smile before turning the music down in his truck. She catches some old school Yellowcard before it goes silent and she thinks she likes this mystery driver already.

He's on the younger scale of his age, roughly around her age it looks like, possibly just starting out college. He's also pretty cute if you were into that typical, Cali dude surfer guy with like, perfect, semi long, curly, beach blond hair and light blue eyes, just above faint freckles around his nose. The height is there for sure and his skin is almost the exact opposite of Beca's and the golden bronze glows under the overhead lights in his truck when Beca hops in the passenger seat, able to get a good look.

Wait….passenger seat? Why the _**fuck**_ is she sitting in the passenger seat of a stranger's car who is suppose to be her transportation back?

"Well, this is definitely the first. Backseat not good enough for you?" This guy seems to notice the bizarre choice in seating arrangements as Beca reaches to click the seatbelt across her waist since there's really no going back now. Thankfully, he is laughing and not completely freaked out by Beca already, saving her from the uncomfortable, awkward ride most would cause if seeing this. Putting his truck into drive, "I'm Brad by the way."

Beca already knows this. She remembers all the information she had to go through when scheduling her ride. She also knows his vehicle type and license plate number, so there's that.

"Beca," she returns the greeting anyway and he doesn't waste a second before whipping his neck so fast she thinks he might've pulled something in that general area.

Eyes on the verge of popping out of his socket, "Beca as in _Beca Mitchell_?" She just stares at him, the words taking longer to reach her senses than normal. "The new music producer working on Diplo's new album? Also, the badass DJ who mixes mashups that take up half my itunes library?"

Oh right. Beca is kind of a _thing_ now. "That'd be me." She tries to add a wink with her signature smirk but regrets it immediately when it comes out sloppy, looking like she just blinked forcefully on purpose. "You listen to my music?" She tries to sober.

"Hell yeah! Your mashups are gnarly! Been a fan since you first started dropping them on YouTube." Beca smiles genuinely at the complements. Still to this day when hearing that her music is being listened to by _actual_ people, it never fails to make her body feel like she's floating. Running into fans is still surreal and Brad here is just adding to that.

"Was that your house? If so, why are you leaving your party and _Goddamn…._ your house is nice."

Thinking about it now, having someone pick her up at a celebrity's house with a group of other celebrities hanging inside probably wasn't the best option, not knowing the level of stalker Brad is capable of. Also, seeing a leak address of Diplo's house all over the web isn't something that's on her bucket list.

So, she lies.

"No uh, it's my friend's house…" she glances around for anything to spark a name, ending up look directly out of the moving truck. "Sky!" she settles on and sees the next street coming up for backup, making it more believable. "Sky Murphy! She's uh, _supppper_ rich and….stuff."

Brad is not only taken back by the sudden change in volume and how invisible beads of sweat are outlining Beca's scalp right now but also her level of fidgeting. She scrunches her nose and closes her eyes, praying that he will either buy her made up, imaginary friend's house or, not ask anymore questions.

If he believes her after that outburst, Hell will be frozen over because _damn_ , she couldn't even fool herself with how unbelievable that sounded.

"That was totally Diplo's house wasn't it?"

Fuck.

Squaring her body and shoulder to face Brad, "I swear to God if you tell any of your friends, or post it on the internet, I'll personally find you, chop your hands off and feed them to the sharks you surf with!"

He raises one hand off the wheel to surrender and has a mixed laugh between terrified and amused. "Whoa. Totally won't do that. I respect celebrities and wouldn't want their peaceful life away from all the cameras to be sabotaged." Beca eases up at this, knowing that maybe she might've been too harsh with her words. She also appreciates that he isn't the type to go flaunting an address of a celebrity on Twitter.

Or at least she hopes.

Fuck, she messed up.

"And second, what makes you think I'm a surfer?" He smirks for a challenge that Beca is more than happy to take.

"First of all, you look like Matthew Mcconaughey's younger brother," Beca starts, only putting a dent into her lists of reasons. "Second, you're literally wearing swim trunks and a bro tank and I bet you anything if it was daylight outside, you'd be wearing a pair of two hundred dollar Ray Bans under that Godly blonde hair of yours." Brad shrugs his shoulders, seeing no route out of this one. "Third, you talk like a stoner, minus the drugs. All you're missing is a pair of flip flops and some sort of puka shells and you're the exact stereotype of a surfer dude."

Just as she finishes saying this, Brad pulls up to a stop sign and lifts one of his legs to show bleach white shells circling his ankle and a pair of leather brown flip flops that are clearly fading in color and beat out of shape.

"Point proven," Beca rolls her eyes as Brad laughs in the driver's seat of his truck, angling back into position to start driving again.

"I don't know whether to be flattered that a famous music producer just insulted my wardrobe, or worried that it actually crashed and burned my self esteem."

Beca laughs, relieved that this guy isn't a total egotistical jerk that cares about his appearance more than life. "Don't worry. It works for you."

"Well apparently not since I've been single for so long it's actually embarrassing."

Embarrassing wouldn't be the proper word Beca would use. Surprising sounds more appropriate. Brad is a good looking guy, with his curly blonde hair, golden tan skin, toned muscles and soothing deep voice. He smells really nice too. So how on Earth is a guy like this single?

Perhaps it was because this dude drives for Uber as an occupation.

"Maybe you should give me some tips since not only do you make sick music but also have girls lining up left and right."

Rollin her eyes, "Ha, no I don't." Actually, Beca reads a lot of very…. _interesting_ messages dropped from fans through out social media. And though it's hard to keep up with all these mentions and messages, she occasionally sees those few crude intentions from female fans in particular.

"Well now you don't since a gorgeous redhead took you off the market." Switching his focus between the road and Beca, he throws a wry smile her way. "Chloe right? I remember seeing something on Twitter."

And of course hearing her girlfriend's name, she goes off on a spiel, describing all the amazing qualities of Chloe to a guy she just met not too long ago. She talks forever it feels like and is surprised that Brad listens to every last thing without shutting her up. She even goes for the harsh jabs, claiming that Chloe's truck is better, or his eyes aren't nearly as blue as her's and he just laughs instead of getting all butt hurt.

But talking about Chloe only reminds her about the move she just pulled on her girlfriend, knowing Chloe wouldn't even think twice about ditching their Skype date without at least a heads up.

Brad sees the change in behavior as her shoulders slump and she frowns out the window. "You want to talk about it?" he asks genuinely through the sudden silence filling the truck.

Really, all Beca wants to do is get home and throw her face into one of her bed's pillows and scream until her lungs give out. Plus, talking about something this personal with a stranger isn't something she'd do even sober.

But, she is _extremely_ drunk and uses that as back up when her words starting dripping from her mouth without the chance to stop them.

"Chloe lives in Georgia, I live in California, obviously. I just went down there to visit and it was _auhmazing_! Then once I was back here, we set up designated times to have Skype dates where we watch movies, or listen to music, and usually end up falling asleep together because when I wake up to go to work, sometimes Chloe's beautiful sleeping form is in that square on my computer screen a million miles away, just sleeping peacefully and I want to reach through the screen and kiss her 'good morning,' but I can't." Brad nods his head, processing everything before Beca continues.

"Experiencing this distance is the hardest thing I've had to do in my entire life. Technology is the one thing that makes it easier and now, just a few hours ago, I had a scheduled Skype date with my girlfriend, who I've been neglecting it feels like because of work and just completely forgot about." Once Beca finishes she is sort of out of breath after spilling that mouthful.

"Yikes." Well that made her feel ten times worse. This isn't something Beca was prepared for as she was expecting maybe a little advice would come her way. Maybe Brad thinks she's doomed too. "I did something like that to one of my ex girlfriends before."

A spark of interest perks up in Beca. "What happened? How did you handle it? Did she dump you? Am I going to get dumped?" she rambles, the level of panic only heightening at the mention of Chloe possibly dumping her.

"No she didn't dump me," he laughs, easing Beca's panic. _Oh thank God_. "We had dinner reservations for her birthday at a super fancy restaurant down in Los Angeles. I ended up hanging with my boys and total spaced my plans for that night. And before I realized it, that time dinner was suppose to happen was already long gone."

"Was she upset?" Hell, Beca would be livid if whoever she was dating stood her up on her birthday. That's worse than what she did!

"Oh Jesus, I don't think I've ever seen someone as angry as she was when I dropped by her house the next day. I was honestly scared for my life, to be honest, as well as every object she could get her hands on." He chuckles but Beca can see the memory isn't one that he is proud of by the pinch in his brows.

"What did you do?"

"Made it up to her." Brad shrugs. "Getting time for both of us to get into that restaurant again was a lot harder than I would've thought but I proved everyday what a gift she was to me-whether it was taking her to Wendy's, or the fanciest restaurant in California."

Beca looks towards her lap where her thumbs are fiddling with one another, thinking about this for a second.

"Sometimes life gets in the way and there's nothing you can do about it. And unless you make it a frequent thing to do, Chloe can't stay mad forever. From what it looks like through the internet, you two completely _moon_ over each other. Whether it's a good reason or bad for missing your Skype date, be honest and I promise she'll let you explain things."

Like it was planned, Brad pulls up right in front of the given address to Beca's apartment and parks his truck along the sidewalk. He fumbles with his phone to check a price, ending the ride as well. "That'll be thirteen dollars plus ten for the advice." He shoots Beca a wink that informs her he isn't being serious and pulls out her wallet to give him a twenty. She tells him to keep the change before opening the door to get out.

"Thank you again for listening to me ramble about my life problems. I know you didn't have to." Somehow during the ride, Beca has sobered up hugely and can clearly see an image of Brad now minus the blur. "I'm glad I found your 4.9 rating on Uber and stuck with you." She smirks, dangling her legs out of the truck and talks over her shoulder.

"No problem, Beca. Don't forget to rate me when you get inside." He smirks back, with his blinding set of perfect teeth and killer crooked smile. Seriously, how is this kid single? "Before you leave, think you can sign my laptop?"

Beca happily nods her head as he reaches into the backseat to grab his laptop case and pulls out a silver MacBook. Grabbing the handed sharpie she signs, " _To the gnarliest surfer dude out there with the best advice -Beca Mitchell."_

"Thanks." He smiles appreciatively before placing his bag back.

Beca fully hops out of the truck, feet touching the ground gracefully and shuts the door before waving him goodbye again. Just as she is about to walk up the stairs to her apartment, Brad rolls down his window.

"Maybe next time we could catch some radical waves instead of participating in a therapy session! Possibly with an added redhead to join?" And then he does that weird hand gesture thing with his pinky and thumb, shaking it through the open window, (maybe the name for it is Shaka but isn't too sure) and Beca _so_ called it that Brad is a total surfer dude.

She shakes her head with a laugh and continues her way up the stairs until she makes it to their door.

What a nice kid-even though he looks like a Barbie mixed with a Hollister model.

* * *

_**Wednesday October 5, 12:30 AM** _

Beca doesn't know exactly how long she has been staring at her phone that's set above the covers of her bed sheets, tapping the purse in her lips with a single finger. She's still in the same clothes from the party, her makeup is borderline a shit show and her hair is all over the place.

But those aren't her main focus right now.

The level of how drunk she was at the party compared to now decreased tremendously-which is nice. But there is still enough alcohol in her system that is making her actions fly on autopilot- which is probably why she decides to call Chloe again, hoping that under a different setting, she'd answer this time.

The phone rings a lot and Beca thinks that it's going to go to voicemail just like it has done the past billion times she called, but then, the rings cut dead and a groggy voice breaks through the silence.

" _Beca?"_

Not expecting Chloe to actually answer, a planned speech in response flew right over Beca's head at the sound of her voice. Jesus, it might be the alcohol and how it's been awhile since she has heard it, but Chloe's voice sounds heavenly right now.

Even just with one word.

" _Beca? Are you there, or did you butt dial me again?"_

Beca can't help but to think back to the very first time she had ever heard Chloe's sleep voice and how she was wearing some sort of retainer in her mouth, making all her words come out as a lisp, just like they are now.

"God, you sound adorable." She also can't help but keep this in, not having much of a filter when it comes to Chloe's cuteness-even through the phone.

" _Why are you calling me so late? Do you know what time it is?"_ The tone of Chloe's voice reels Beca back into the seriousness of the conversation and how it doesn't sound like she is in much of the mood to be drowned in complements by Beca. And she frowns when she remembers the main reason why she is calling Chloe in the first place.

A simple reminder of how she is the worst possible girlfriend on the face of this Earth.

"I really...fucked up tonight, Chlo. Fuck, I really fucking fucked up," Beca slurs uncontrollably.

" _Are you drunk?"_

Shit.

Of course Chloe would be able to tell if Beca drank or not. It was her weird ginger telepathy. Chloe's croaky sleep voice though doesn't sound like she's angry- which is a good sign. A little concerned, but not mad.

She thinks back to Brad's words when he said to be honest with Chloe so, she takes a single deep breath, in through the nose, out the mouth, "yes," and bites her lip, waiting for the yelling to come but it never does.

She hears Chloe exhale a deep breath. " _Are you alright?"_ And Chloe's voice is soft, unlike what Beca was bracing for. The lisp is also gone so it's more clear to hear her.

"No, I'm not alright. I'm angry at myself that I stood you up tonight." Beca frowns, feeling her stomach start to coil at the thought of how Chloe must feel after being forgotten. It's a thought that makes her want to be sick and she doesn't know if it's from the amount of anger she has towards her decisions, or the amount of consumed alcohol she drank throughout the night.

Either way, it makes her want to vomit.

" _Beca.."_ Chloe doesn't even sound the same. It's actually the first time Beca thinks that she has heard Chloe sound this hurt.

"I'm so sorry, Chlo. I even asked for a change in time regarding our date, pushing it back later and _still_ ended up missing it when I promised not to. _Fuck_ , I'm so fucking sorry, Chloe."

She'd do anything to go back in time, rewind until the start of the party and make sure Chloe was her main priority for the night like she said, not alcohol.

" _Beca, I get it. You got caught up at the party. Yes, I was a little upset that I waited for an hour until I figured out you wouldn't be logging on but that's only because I missed you."_

Beca cringes at the information, feeling that twist in her gut again when Chloe mentions she was waiting alone for Beca for a _full_ hour.

" _Your job is your job. There's things you need to do and I'm not going to be the one keeping you from doing them. We are on opposite sides of the country where our schedules don't meet..."_

Beca freezes, muting out whatever else Chloe is saying, the worry eating at her skin like acid. She's heard the start of this conversation before and how it ends after watching so many rom coms with Chloe on Netflix. Usually, there's two crying people who have just broken up and not trying to fix whatever problem there is afloat.

Just like there is now.

And that makes Beca's heart thump in her chest, urging to do whatever it takes not to let that happen.

"Please don't break up with me," Beca pleas into the phone, her throat starting to constrict and that burning tingle in her nose that's threatening the tears to pool in her eyes before actually falling. "I-I...I can work on things! I promise to make things right again. You make me so fucking happy and…. _God_ , I can't lose you, Chlo. Please don't break up with me."

Chloe stops Beca mid ramble, " _Whoa! Baby, I'm not breaking up with you. Where did that come from?"_ Beca can feel every muscle in her body relax individually and the added pet name lifts the heavy weight up off her shoulders. She still ends up shedding a few tears, mostly because she is honestly relieved that she isn't getting kicked to the curb. She doesn't know where it came from if she is being honest. It all kind of hit her at once and her worries soon out beat her sanity.

" _I understand things come up, especially with you and your career. I don't want to be that crazy girlfriend who whines all the time about not receiving enough attention. You give me more than enough."_

Beca sniffles while wiping the few tears, pulling the phone away so Chloe can't hear her mess of a state. "Can you at least say how much you hate me for ditching our Skype date tonight?"

" _No I will not say that because it isn't true. It hurt a little bit being ditched, I'm not going to lie. But I'm over it. Plus, knowing you, you're already brainstorming ways to make it up to me."_

"I may or may not have drunk dialed the flower shop and ordered a bouquet of flowers, a teddy bear with some kind of heart that it's holding and a shit ton of chocolate with a telegram of my apologies that should be there tomorrow with the one day delivery option."

Chloe laughs into the phone, sending a wave of warm tingles down Beca's spine at the melodic noise. She loves when Chloe laughs. And though it hasn't been too long since Beca has last heard it, the sound is still chilling to the ear. " _See? I know you too well. Also, you didn't have to do that, Becs. Honestly, it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes."_

"I know. I just hate breaking promises and breaking a promise to you is unbearable." The idea that Chloe doesn't hate her is there but also, the idea that she was the cause of Chloe being upset for the night kills.

" _And that's what I love most about you, baby."_

"Do you forgive me?" Beca chews on her bottom lip, eagerly awaiting Chloe's response.

" _Yes I do. What I don't forgive is you interrupting my beauty sleep."_

"Oh shit. I forget how late it is there." Now Beca feels bad for waking Chloe up in the middle of the night. But it's a lot better not having that nagging pain in her heart, not being able to sincerely apologize to Chloe while it eats her away. "You go back to bed. I'm sorry for waking you."

" _Thank you for calling me…"_ There's a pause on Chloe's end. " _Twenty six times prior to this one, as well as some drunk text messages I have in my inbox."_ Chloe chuckles. " _It means you actually care enough to apologize."_

Drunk messages? _Oh no_. Beca doesn't remember messaging Chloe at the party.

Shaking that thought off for now, "yeah, at least now I can sleep."

" _Well good. So can I_." It sounds like Chloe put her retainer back in with the change of accent in her voice, lisp coming back strong and cute as ever.

" _I'll text you when I wake up? Then you can tell me all about your night?"_

A relieved smile curves at the corners of Beca's lips, "sounds good."

" _I love you, Beca. Just remember that it's going to take a lot more to change how I feel about you,"_ Chloe says, her yawn concluding the sentence ends in an adorable squeak, one a hamster might make.

Can she get any cuter?

Beca's lips curve even farther uncharacteristically into a giddy smile that stretches almost pass her ears at the words. "I love you too, babe. Sleep well."

She ends the call with a smile on her face, definitely not something she was planning on sporting once the call was finished. Nonetheless though, she is grateful that Chloe accepted her apology and isn't going through the process of switching her relationship status to single.

It really wasn't as big of mistake as Beca originally thought it was- _not_ saying what she did was okay in any way shape or form. But something to end a relationship as strong as her and Chloe's was a little unrealistic. She should've known Chloe would be understanding of the situation, knowing Beca didn't purposely dip out on their date. It was actually the one thing Beca was most excited for until tequila got into her system.

Remembering the mention of text messages sent to Chloe, she snatches her phone back into her hands and proceeds to click through the options until their conversation is pulled up from tonight.

_**Tuesday October 4, 11:45 PM** _

**B: Yur sooo besuriful asnd I'm SUCHA dickfor ditched u**

**B: Answr ur phonebaby I wantt to saysorry**

**B: Id hate me..if I dod ths to mysfl**

**B: Pleas dnt hate me :-( :-( :-(**

**B: :-( :-( Chlo..**

"Oh _**God,**_ " Beca mutters a few guttural groans before she is face down in her bed, throwing her phone over to the desk embarrassed that she did such a thing- _ **multiple**_ times by the way. She is the _exact_ reason why drunk people are _not_ allowed to have their cell phones. Because they pull this card and waste years and years of English education down the drain, unable to form a proper spelling and punctuated sentence for the life of them.

At least she knows Chloe will find some humor in the greatly misspelled messages. Maybe tease her about it when tomorrow comes. Hell, Beca would take teasing over the silent treatment any day.

Somehow Beca missed the arrival of Buttercup, or her presence when she walked in the room and is now staring back at the kitten, whose facial expression is a combination between irritated that she has just been woken up and well….actually the first one sums it right up.

A rattled vibration from her phone scares her half to death, unsure who it could be when the one person she texts the most is probably out cold.

_**Wednesday October 5, 12:56 AM** _

_Selena Gomez: Hey Beca! Are you alright? You kind of just booked it out of the party without any explanation._

**B: Yeah no. I'm fine. I just, kinda bailed on Chloe tonight, being too busy at the party.**

_Selena: Oh no! Are you guys alright?_

**B: We're good. I apologized and she understood. Sorry for just up and leaving you though. I actually had a lot of fun tonight.**

_Selena: Okay good. I'm glad you two are alright. And same here! You'll have to come to my beach house one of these days so I can drink you under the table again! ;P_

**B: Haha whatever. I didn't eat dinner tonight so I blame that!**

_Selena: Hmmm, whatever, shorty!_

_Selena: I'm going to head back inside. I'm sorry you and Chloe didn't have your date night but I'm happy to see my favorite couple strong as ever :) I'll see you Friday morning!_

**B: Sounds good. Thanks for checking up on me.**

Beca connects her phone to the charger, noticing that it is almost dead. She feels the mascara on her lashes starting to stick, figuring the crying didn't help keep her appearance at the top notch level and goes to the bathroom to clean up.

The opening of the front door startles her as she is in the process of clearing off her make up, with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth and a dribble of white foam spilling from the corners of her mouth. Keys rattling onto the living table is what's heard next before footsteps march up the stairs, down the hallway and she is greeted by no other than Stacie herself.

"What are you doing here?" Beca mumbles through a mouth full of toothpaste but sees that Stacie understood about zero of what she actually said, all of it coming out as gibberish. She spits in the sink and rinses out her mouth before walking out of the bathroom to go back into her room where Stacie is sprawled across her bed.

"What are you doing here?" Beca repeats clearly this time, glancing at her desk clock to see that it's pretty early for Stacie to be back from the party. "I was expecting you once the sun rises this morning."

"Selena told me about you missing a Skype date with Chloe," Stacie says quietly. Beca can't actually tell by her body language how she is feeling but the tone in her voice is a lot weaker than her usual bold, confident tone. "I can't help but feel responsible for you missing that."

Beca shakes her head, hoping to get rid of what she just heard exit from her friend's mouth before it poisons her brain. Never would she of blamed this night on Stacie. She's a grown woman who can make her own decisions and tonight she made a bad one. No one and nothing caused her to do so except for herself.

"It wasn't your fault Stace," Beca assures, moving to sit next to Stacie.

Stacie scoots over, body slant and arched up by her elbows. "I mean, kinda. I forced you to go Diplo's party even after you told me about your date night."

"That's on me, Stace. If anything I should be apologizing to you. I haven't been balancing my time correctly."

"It's your first serious girlfriend, Becs. I understand that you don't know how to split time properly yet. I just….don't want to be the reason why I broke up Hollywood's "it" couple." Beca scrunches her nose. Did people seriously call them that? "Chloe makes you ridiculously happy. It's almost nauseating how cute you guys are."

"But I don't want you to feel like you're losing me as a best friend. I'll always make time for you, maybe even too much. But like they say, chicks before…." Beca pauses in ponder, puzzled on the actual saying since Chloe is a girl. Not a dude. So it doesn't really work.

"Clits," Stacie finishes nonchalantly; Beca chokes on her own saliva at the word. Honestly, she should be use to this amount of raunch coming from her friend.

Stacie starts to laugh and Beca soon follows until they breathless and fall into a comfortable silence.

Beca looks around the dim room, fingers drumming against her thighs casually when her stomach breaks the silence with a monstrous rumble. She looks over to Stacie, who clearly heard such a loud noise emit from such a tiny person.

"Uh, wanna make me a quesadilla?"

Stacie snickers, grin wicked with a slow roll to her eyes before she is getting up, dragging Beca down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Food after a night like this?

Hell yes.

* * *

_**Wednesday October 5, 7:21 AM** _

_Aubrey Posen: Beca Mitchell, what did you do to my best friend?_

**B: Jesus, Posen. It's like seven.**

_Aubrey Posen: Not down here it's not._

_Aubrey Posen: You can sleep when you're dead- which might come sooner than later since I just opened the door to a delivery guy holding a vase of 'I'm sorry flowers' and stacks of chocolate. I think there's a teddy bear somewhere in the pile of stuff too._

**B: It's nothing big. I made a mistake last night and sort of forgot about my skype date with Chloe while I was at a party for my job.**

**B: I ordered all of that stuff before I actually talked to Chloe. She knows how sorry I am.**

_Aubrey Posen: Are you sure you will be able to be flexible with your career as well as your girlfriend? I don't want to be there when Chloe's crying her eyes out after you push her into the shadows with your job. Have you ever seen a crying Chloe Beale? It's awful._

**B: Yes I know I fucked up last night but I promise to you and to her that it won't happen again. Yes, my daily planner is destined to be more occupied now that the single is about to drop and we are finishing up the album but Chloe means the world to me. If I had the choice, I'd find another occupation that didn't take up majority of my time.**

_Aubrey Posen: I hate to say this because I want to be upset but you make Chloe insanely happy. I'm glad you two worked this out._

_Aubrey Posen: DON'T let this happen again, Mitchell. Remember what I told you._

**B: Oh don't worry. I remember.**

_Aubrey Posen: Now excuse me but I have some chocolate to taste test._

**B: NOT FOR YOU, POSEN.**

Beca releases a few deep breaths as she tosses her phone down, throwing her head back into the mountain of pillows that are scrambled where she sleeps. This wake up call was definitely not something planned in her agenda for today-her day off. Also, being up this early wasn't ideally what she had in mind, especially with the amount of throbbing going on inside her head.

Now that she's up though, might as well get ready for work. Maybe make some breakfast for her and Stacie before they go their separate ways, get some food in her stomach.

After freshening up in the bathroom, popping a few pain killers to eliminate the pulse from her heartbeat she feels inside her ears, she heads downstairs going straight for the kitchen and is surprised to see that Stacie is already up and glowing with today's choice of outfit.

Hearing the added presence of someone behind her, she turns her head and greets Beca with a smile, "Morning, munchkin."

"For someone who has been out drinking all night, you sure don't show it." Unlike Stacie, Beca feels and probably looks like death in a walking body. "Coffee?"

"Already made." Stacie points over to the maker, showing a full, freshly brewed pot of caffeine and Beca nearly sprints to make herself a cup. She moans into the cup once the warm liquid hits her tastebuds and can tell by a few more sips it is doing wonders for her raging headache.

"Why are you up so early?" Beca asks, squeezing by Stacie to scavenge the fridge for all the needed supplies to make a Food Network like breakfast for the two of them.

"Early lab day for Physics," Stacie shrugs, moving herself over to the table so Beca has more room to move. "I heard you had a chat with Aubrey."

The quick change of direction in the conversation takes Beca a little off guard. And how did Stacie already know about Aubrey texting her this morning? It literally happened not even ten minutes ago.

She keeps that to herself though and only cocks a brow up suspiciously, keeping the confirmation that her best friend and Aubrey talk this early and have been quite a lot the past month on the DL.

"You and Chloe are fine though?"

"Yeah we are good. I still feel bad about last night but she told me already that it happens. I just, want to make it up to her somehow."

"I bet you will," Stacie throws Beca a genuine smile. "Wanna grab lunch today? My other classes got cancelled so I'm free after my lab this morning."

"Yeah that sounds good." Beca sighs contented, the aroma of how things were before washing around her as she makes breakfast.

* * *

_**Friday October 7, 10:30 AM** _

Beca is messing around this morning with the sound boards for Diplo as she listens for any outliers in the tracks with her team chatting amongst themselves while she works.

Her phone rings and she sees Chloe's name light up on her screen, instantly bringing a smile to her face. Things haven't changed in the slightest way between them since the night Beca pulled the dumbest card in the book. In fact, over these past few days, work has given her far more time away from the studio and allowed her all the time in the world to not only make up for the missed Skype date but also, the time she missed while she was crammed in the studio.

She didn't know how things fell accordingly with work, her social life and her girlfriend. There is a three way balance that she had to work out and so far, it is working in her favor, giving equal time to everything and everyone. Nights, she is exhausted from splitting her time, it feels like, but finally, she fell into a smooth routine.

"Is that Chloe?" Diplo is in the spinning chair next to her, listening the some of the beats him and Beca are messing around with.

"Yeah, I don't know why she is calling me so early though. She's at work right now." Beca swipes the slider to the right before lifting the device up to her ear. "Hey you."

"Put her on speaker!" Selena rushes with a grin. She is sitting in one of the studio's sofas and with most of what she asks for, she gets, as Beca removes the phone from her ear to press the speaker button, amplifying Chloe's voice for all them to hear.

As she does this, a high pitch squeal from Chloe on the other end almost blows her speaker at the max volume. " _OhmyGod, ohmyGod, ohmyGod! I just heard your new single on the radio during my lunch break!"_

Everyone around the room shares a warm smile at the level of excitement pulsing through Chloe's body right now and the way Chloe's voice is going in and out, Beca can assume she is bouncing of some sort.

Today is the day where Diplo decided to release a new single, "Tomorrow Never Comes" for his fans and apparently, radio stations were already getting their hands on it.

"And? What do you think?" Beca is honestly surprised that Chloe is the first to hear the new single before she, or any of her team has.

Chloe dramatically scoffs, " _it's freaking AMAZING! Everything about it just….oh my God!"_ Selena mouths an "awe," clutching her heart with the complements.

" _And oh my goodness your…..voice! You need to get your vocals out there, babe. Your voice is_ _ **way**_ _too talented to be kept under the covers."_ Roger, Selena, Diplo, and the other members of her team all nod their head in agreeance at Chloe's words, making Beca roll her eyes as if she hasn't heard this enough from them already.

"You think so?"

" _Uh, yes Bec! Your singing gets me all….hot and bothered…"_ Chloe let's this dangle, her words oozing coy and way too sexy for anyone but Beca's ears to overhear.

Dammit, Chloe. Where's your filter?

At this, Beca quickly takes her girlfriend off of speaker phone and gets up from the chair, ignoring all the 'hoots' and whistles she is receiving from everyone that heard. Face scorching from the blood rushing to her face and flipping them all off, she leaves the room to take a step into her office at Atlantic, glad there's peace and quiet when she steps in.

Taking a seat at her desk chair, "well if I'd known that sooner, I would've sung for you a long time ago," she continues, feeling more confident about her choices of words to flirt without an audience watching her like owls.

" _You know now so I expect some private sessions when I see you."_ Chloe giggles sweetly. It's always such a shock to Beca how Chloe can morph from flirty to giddy in the matter of seconds. " _I'm so proud of you, baby."_

Beca has heard this almost _too_ much over the time the single was complete but now, hearing it from Chloe, means absolutely the world to her and she actually believes she has done good. Smiling so wide it's starting to hurt, "Thank you, Chlo. It….means a lot coming from you."

" _Of course! I already bought it off of iTunes, added it to my workout playlist and I'm cueing it up for my students so they could listen once recess is over."_

Beca feels herself swoon, as well as her insides going to mush. "Inflate my heart anymore than it should why don't cha?"

" _My girlfriend is an amazing, extremely talented music producer, who has an amazing voice and is just an amazing person with an amazing personality. Really, I could go on for days if you want."_

"As much as my ego loves all this…" Beca chuckles, playing with the cap to a pen on her desk, "you've said more than enough. I'm glad you like the single."

" _I can only imagine how the album will turn out. Any chance for an exclusive sneak peak before it drops?"_

Beca can tell Chloe is pouting her best puppy dog eyes, batting her lashes and is glad she isn't able to see it in person. Like kryptonite, a look like that is her weakness. "Nice try."

" _Eh, worth a shot,"_ Chloe folds with a sigh. 

"Actually since this single, I've decided to take on some more vocals for Diplo's album. Only because some other artists we tried to snag had scheduling conflicts."

" _No way! Beca! That's awesome!"_ Chloe beams through the line with pride, not a second of it sounding fake. " _What other artists are featured on the album?"_

"So far we have Charlie XCX, Rita Ora, and Fetty Wap. My dad's going to flip for the last one," Beca shakes her head with a laugh, only slightly embarrassed about her own father being familiar with a popular rapper at his age. She hates to admit it but he's pretty hip for an old man.

" _Oh my… plus this one with Selena! Wow. Talk about album of the year."_

"I don't want to jinx it or anything but you might be right. Diplo's an amazing DJ, producer and performer with tons of amazing work he's created in the past. Since his last collab album with Skrillex that skyrocketed in charts, especially with the Biebs, his fans are hyped for something new. I just hope I'm able to deliver it for them. Meet their expectations you know?"

" _Trust me, babe. You'll take the world by storm with your musical talent. Especially since you just proved it by this amazing single."_

"You're right." Beca is sure this smile on her face is about to be permanent. Who knew grumpy ol' Beca Mitchell was capable of such a cheesy grin. "I love you."

_"I love you too, buttercup. I wish I was there celebrating with you."_

Instantly, Beca's body language sags and her once sharp smile engraved on her mouth is flipped upside down with a frown. She hates this, being so far away from Chloe on such an amazing day like this one. "Me too."

Out the glass window of her office, she catches Diplo and Selena eavesdropping before her unlocked door swings open to mouths puckered and kissing noises given from the two of them. _Fuck. Should've locked the damn thing._ Beca hisses under her breath to leave but it doesn't phase the two currently continuing their teasing. She thinks it might've encouraged them even more.

" _Who's that?_ Chloe asks suddenly, the noises in the background finally reaching her through the phone.

"Two grown ups acting like immature children," Beca insults with a smirk.

All out of options to stop the two from their teasing, Beca grabs the closest thing in her desk-a stress ball that she invested in once the building of the album came along- and chucks it over at her door where Selena and Diplo were, hitting at least one of them in the face.

* * *

_**Saturday October 8, 8:34 AM** _

**B: Good morning :-)**

_C: Why hello rockstar ;) how's life the day after your single just dropped?_

**B: Pretty intense haha**

**B: You were right though. Single is currently trending on Twitter as we speak.**

**B: Also number 3 on the iTunes top charts.**

_C: :D No way! That's freaking awesome! I'm going to tweet about it!_

_C: Um, I just saw another thing that's trending. #BecaMitchellCanSing?_

**B: Oh yeah. I forgot about that one.**

_C: Babe, you're trending worldwide! How cool is that!? I have fans of your's asking if I knew anything about it!_

**B: Deny, deny, deny!**

**B: I guess it's shocking for them to be able to put a voice behind all the mixes I made.**

_C: Shocking? I think they're all about to go into cardiac arrest lol_

_C: All I see are demands of more songs with you featured in them._

_C: I also see the occasional tweet about you creating your own album…._

**B: Haha I don't know about the album thing. I'm just now starting to get comfortable with my voice out to the public. My mom was the only one I could belt lyrics to, making noise on kitchen pans with wooden spoons. It's just weird singing without her.**

_C: I totally understand._

_C: But I bet she would be more than proud seeing you come this far. I mean, you went from having a one person audience to millions. That's awesome!_

**B: Yeah. I know she would :-)**

**B: Anyway on a more stressful note, Stacie, just like the lawyer we scavenged for, insists on me to hire a publicist. She even mentioned a bodyguard at some point. She thinks I'm like Beyoncé or something huge haha**

_C: You already have a large fan base from YouTube and your mash ups. But now that you're blowing up in the music world where paparazzis and the crazies can stalk you, getting both of those won't be a bad idea_

_C: You're a celebrity now!_

**B: I guess you're right. Gotta save myself somehow from TMZ.**

**B: I'll look more into it once the album is finished. Knowing California and Stacie, it won't be cheap.**

_C: Can you be my sugar momma? ;) I have quite the interest in diamonds…_

**B: Oh do you now? :-)**

**B: Weird, I just somehow landed in a Jared's close to work.**

_C: Oh yes! Shut up! ;)_

_C: I might love diamonds but I love you more xo :)_

**B: Next time it won't be a joke, I'm warning you now :-) Spoiling you just sounds...amazing.**

_C: Hey, I'm totally okay with that! ;) Maybe after my fall classes I can get a stable, well paying teaching job to spoil you too :)_

**B: You will. I see it :-)**

**B: How is everything by the way? With school and your students?**

_C: Great! They've been watching a musical during our class time, Footloose. They're going nuts about it :)_

_C: We decided to take the last few days off of prepping for our Halloween concert. Kids can only sing so much songs before they get burnt out lol_

**B: A concert? When is this?**

_C: Friday, the weekend of Halloween :)_

_C: Orchestra, band and my choir class are all performing! :)_

**B: Oh awesome!**

**B: I bet the concert will be awesome :-) I wish I could see it.**

_C: Don't worry, Aubrey will record the entire thing with her master camera work. She's a pro, trust me ;)_

_C: But I wish you could come too. Not only would I be able to see you again but also, some of my older kids are very fond of your music. They'd lose their minds if the one and only Beca Mitchell was at a silly, middle school Halloween concert :)_

**B: It isn't silly. It's special. Especially since I know you're working your ass off on it.**

**B: My overachiever girlfriend ;-)**

_C: You're so right._

_C: My very talented, celebrity girlfriend ;)_

**B: How does it feel dating a celebrity? ;-)**

_C: My phone is constantly going off...that's for sure!_

_C: But I love it._

_C: Quite a lot actually ;)_

**B: Good. Cause you ain't getting rid of me :-)**

* * *

**Monday October 10, 11:35 AM**

"Yo, Beca."

Beca pulls her headphones off her ears, seeing an added body in the studio through her peripherals. Diplo had something to do with his manager today, so it left Beca to polish the completed songs and a very much needed alone time sessions away from everyone else. She loves her team and everyone working with her on this album. But the constant bickering about which transition sounds best, or which pitches in vocals is the right way to go is giving her a daily migraine.

This private time alone though, with just a cup of coffee, her laptop and music is helping tremendously. It brings her back to the time spent by herself in a room of her apartment, creating random beats on her launchpad and bugging the living shit out of Stacie with the constant throbbing of the bass as the music blared on her speakers.

She loves that she has come so far making music and finally got her name out there, just like her mom said she would. But honestly, she has to say making music on her own without someone constantly over her shoulder, making sure everything flows correctly is something that she truly misses.

Beca greets her boss with a smile, swirling around in the spinning office chairs to face him where he's sitting on the couch. She snickers when she see black shades are covering his eyes, knowing for a fact that it is not sunny in this studies and actually on the dark side of amount of light. But still, he feels the need to wear sunglasses inside.

"What's up, Rog?"

"Locking yourself in the studio again? Usually when a producer's artist takes the day off, they do too. Especially since you're off the clock and these hours aren't getting paid for."

Beca rolls her eyes with a snort. This has to be the least of her worries right now. Money was never what she signed onto Diplo's album for. It's nice to have, yes, since she's just coming straight out of college, but is it her main focus or priority? Absolutely not. She just wants to make enjoyable music for her fans to listen to. Anything else that comes along is just a bonus.

A cherry on top one would say.

"I know. I just wanted to fix up the few tracks we've done, making sure they're perfect before Rita comes by next week." Beca gestures her hand over towards her laptop. "I focus the best when I'm alone."

"Understandable." Roger bobs his head back and forth. "But I think you need a break, kid. Working hard is nice until it consumes your life. How's the girlfriend?"

Beca brows knit at the sudden question involving Chloe, unsure why Roger brought her up. "She's great. Busy at school. She's about to finish her online classes at the end of this month so she's pretty excited."

"Well see? That's a great reason to celebrate!" Confused as ever, Beca just cocks her head. "You are familiar with the fairly large Halloween Bash held at The Greek Theatre?" he continues.

Familiar? _Psh_ , it's not like Beca has only been going to this festival every single year since she first moved to LA. It is seriously paradise being there. Every well known artist, including famous DJs lineup to perform for a long, three day festival. People who attend dress up for Halloween, straight up terrifying to creative, and it's basically a less popular and intense version of Coachella.

Beca nods her head though, keeping her level of chill neutral.

"Zedd is performing there, as well as Diplo and Skrillex and I just happen to have four, VIP tickets to give away."

Hearing this information, the harder it is for Beca to not freak the fuck out and can feel the tingling elation form into beads of sweat along her forehead the longer she clenches her jaw shut, not losing her cool.

"Oh really?"

"Yep," Roger pops the 'p' while taking out orange and black badges from his leather brown jacket's pocket. "I already have my tickets, taking my daughter and her best friend. I just need to find someone who would want these extra ones…" he keeps it casual, not directly telling Beca she should take them and that he is offering but does a Hell of a job hinting it to her.

She thinks about this for a second. The last time she last seen Chloe has been over a month. She desperately needed her redheaded girlfriend fix before she combusts or the dreadful wait kills her. Also, she remembers that Chloe loves music, concerts in particular, so bringing this up would definitely get some excitement in the equation.

Not counting the thousand of miles splitting them apart, scheduling is the only hard part when forming plans. Making sure nothing important is been done on those days. Beca might be free that week but it isn't certain that Chloe is too. And since there's four tickets, Aubrey would definitely be Chloe's plus one- which makes it even harder since there is now two schedules to clear up.

But what harm does asking do? If they weren't able to make it, at least her and Stacie could go and she could plan something else out with Chloe.

And still, even with days passed, she feels awful about skipping their date night. So what better way to make it up with quality time together and a kick ass concert.

"I'll take them."

* * *

_**Monday October 10, 5:34 PM** _

**B: Hi! :-)**

_C: Excited much? ;)_

_C: What has you all happy? Lol_

**B: Oh nothing.**

**B: What are you doing?**

_C: Just cleaning up dinner with Aubrey. I cooked for the first time and actually didn't burn the food! :D_

_C: You're a very good teacher, Ms. Mitchell ;)_

**B: Good job, babe :-)**

**B: What's the occasion?**

_C: Aubrey just passed her last practical exam for the month so I made her a celebratory dinner! :)_

**B: Oh shit! That's awesome! Tell her I said congrats!**

**B: How many more years of Dental school? Like a hundred? She's going to have gray hair before she becomes an orthodontist.**

_C: Lol! So true!_

_C: But a lot! She is only in her first year of dental school. She has to prep for a huge test that takes like three days to complete but other than that, I have no idea the route she has to take. All I know is that she is in dire need of a vacation._

_C: Plus I can't wait until she gets licensed since I'll get free cleanings for my teeth when it happens! :D_

**B: Oh really? Does she have time for that? You know, with practicals and exams and stuff?**

**B: And like your teeth need to be any whiter than they already are. Are you trying to blind me?**

_C: Briefly. Surprisingly, she gets a fall break from school. It's not for long, just a week but it's like the only time she has away from her studying._

_C: And no I'm not :)_

**B: When is this happening?**

_C: I think the week of Halloween. Friday maybe? I have no idea. Hold on._

_C: Yeah she said break starts Friday._

**B: :-)**

**B: :-D**

**B: !**

_C: …_

_C: Is there a reason why you're only communicating in emoticons? ;)_

**B: No reason :-)**

**B: Hey! Let's do a twenty question thing. Are you busy?**

_C: Uh…. No I'm in my room now?_

_C: Why do you want to do this, silly? I feel like I know almost everything about you already :)_

**B: I'll just ask the questions this time.**

**B: Put a little spin on the game.**

_C: Alrighty :)_

_C: Shoot!_

**B: Thoughts on music festivals?**

_C: Okay, random….lol_

_C: I've never been to a music festival! I've only been to one concert and it was Nsync when I was really young!_

_C: I want to go to one though!_

**B: Okay.**

**B: Favorite music genre?**

_C: You already know this! Basically anything I can dance to ;)_

**B: Duh. Forgot.**

**B: You like Zedd, Diplo, and Skrillex right?**

**B: David Guetta? Dawin?**

_C: More like LOVE them, Becs! Come on now!_

**B: Then you'd be pretty pumped if you were able to see all those artists live right?**

_C: Okay...these are getting suspiciously weird since they all link up somehow..._

**B: Do you like California? Thoughts on LA?**

_C: Never been there :) but pictures I see are beautiful._

**B: What is your schedule like the last week of October?**

_C: Well I have my concert Friday night but the following weekend and Monday for Halloween I'm free. Then class for school during the week. Why?_

Beca exits out of the conversation with Chloe and dials her number. Enough texting for now. She could barely handle her excitement as she typed.

" _Yes?"_ Chloe's voice sounds skeptical but amused at the same time and it makes Beca bite her bottom lip with anticipation.

Feeling the compulsion just to spit out the news and not fluff it anymore than she already has, she speaks. "So, I am calling you because I have a preposition."

" _Ooohkayyy?"_ Chloe says slowly, unsure what Beca is about to spill next. " _What is it?_

"I may or may not have four VIP tickets to attend LA's biggest Halloween music festival at the end of this month. I was wondering if you and maybe Aubrey would like to fly down-"

The rest of Beca's sentence gets interrupted by Chloe's signature squeal that heightens by at least three octaves and she just can't find the strength in her to pull the phone away without sharing Chloe's excitement with her.

" _Are you serious?!"_

Beca laughs, enjoying this reaction from Chloe even through the phone. "Totes serious," she mocks a famous saying Chloe always says and earns herself another piercing noise that rings her eardrums. "That is if you guys want to come. Roger even offered to fly you guys down here, saying that getting tickets around Halloween is a nightmare. I think it's mostly because he wants to meet you. Actually, everyone at Atlantic does." It's so true and it makes Beca laugh. Her girlfriend was quite the celebrity around the office.

Chloe goes off with a mouthful of just pure noises, maybe the beginning of a forming word but Beca isn't too sure. Her lips are also starting to get dry as she notices she hasn't stopped smiling since she first called Chloe.

It floods Beca's insides with happiness listening to Chloe act like a complete child.

" _I-I...oh my gosh yes! Just...let me."_ Beca hears Chloe shuffling around through the speaker. She can tell the noise is coming from some sort of book or something with pages. " _For how long is the trip?_

Picking up the tickets that were placed next to her on the bed, she reads the dates. "The performances start Saturday, the 29, the last day is obviously Halloween. I was thinking you guys could stay a little bit longer after. I'm sure there is more than enough to do around the city, especially since you've never been here."

Chloe doesn't bother with actual words and just screeches with an occasional flip to the pages of whatever she is messing around with. " _I don't have anything big scheduled for the week of the 29 through the 5-which is also someone's birthday!"_

"Oh that's right. Well, you being able to stay up here for an entire week is my only birthday wish."

Birthdays in general for Beca isn't something she is really fond of. But the thought of spending the day with Chloe is totally worth making an exception for.

" _No way would I miss your birthday! I have so many vacation days left so a week is nothing! Plus, I'd be finishing up my online classes so I'd be free of being stuck at a computer all day!"_

"So yeah? You and Aubrey are coming?"

" _I haven't really asked Aubrey if she wants to go but I already know the answer will be yes. So, yes. Pencil us in!"_

All of Beca's emotions are going haywire but in the best way possible. In fact, her body has been filled with an overflow of giddiness once there was a slight possibility of seeing Chloe in person again.

"Sweet! Then I'll tell my boss. You both can stay at Stacie and I's apartment. I'm sure she'll be stoked to hear that Aubrey is tagging along as well."

" _This is the best news I've heard since you told me you were flying down to Georgia in the beginning of September!"_ Chloe gushes, screeching into the phone with so much joy and Beca can physically feel the power of Chloe's smile. " _The only thing that would make the weekend perfect is you somehow being able to see my concert on Friday."_ Chloe's tone deflates for the briefest of seconds, reciprocating the effect off of Beca before she perks right back up at the news.

"Me too, babe."

It's a chatty few hours before they end the call; Beca wishing she could just time travel to the end of October so she could finally be able to see Chloe. She's ecstatic and a little bit relieved that both her and Aubrey were able to be free the exact day when the festival starts and get that time off and then some.

Lucky much? Maybe she should take her chance with a lotto ticket with the way things are going for her.

And she's pretty much bouncing off the walls, her body buzzing with exhilaration as she marches up to her calendar hanging up in her room and writes " _Chloe_ " with a heart the entire last week of October, everything now written in stone.

But then she takes a look at that lone Friday before the start of weekend she is eagerly anticipating for and something inside her clicks. She shakes her head determined and swipes her laptop from her desk before opening it up. Going online, she finds what she needs and dials the number on her keyboard.

"Hi. I'm looking to schedule two flights to Atlanta Georgia on October 28, flying out of Los Angeles California. Preferably in the morning would be great."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloe POV next chap! Also, just a teaser, things get a little….steamy over the phone as well ;)  
> Fav for Brad! #TeamBrad!


	14. New Phone Calls

_**Monday October 10, 8:20 PM** _

When Chloe first mutually opted to handle a long distance relationship with Beca, she obviously took in the struggles and obstacles that would come their way. _Inevitably_ , it was destined to be hard, that wasn't something new to Chloe. Hell, relationships in the _same_ state, a ten mile radius are hard to maintain, let alone thousands of miles apart.

Dating a famous music producer though? Someone who is now _verified_ on every social media platform on the Internet? That's when it gets a little tricky.

Almost _too_ tricky.

Undoubtedly, Chloe is insanely proud of Beca and all her accomplishments so far she's impacted in the music industry because God knows the girl has so much talent in that tiny little body of her's it's practically surprising she wasn't discovered out of the womb. She couldn't think of anything better Beca could be doing besides creating amazing music that people go ecstatic for and if Beca's happy doing that, then Chloe's happy too.

The pluses of dating Beca, the music producer with already so much recognition, comes in handfuls. Other than being able to brag consistently and enjoy the look of pure jealousy wash over everyone's faces when they find out Beca is off the market, dating Beca is like dating a normal person. Nothing is different; Chloe doesn't have to change how she acts to try and fit into Beca's world. It's safe. Dating Beca has only been a dream come true when it came to finding the right person.

Minus all the attention, money, fans and celebrities though.

Dating Beca has even gotten to that point where now Chloe is starting to get looked at differently when she makes public appearances. Whether it's a weekend trip to the mall with Aubrey to buy some new clothes, or going out to eat in the city for lunch, she can feel the amount of stranger's eyes on her like several pokes to the face.

It took a while to feel…. _comfortable_ under all these stares she was under and actually the first couple times, she almost confronted a few people to ask them why they felt the need to watch her every move like a hawk, and most likely it would've been _everything_ but the typical, bubbly, friendly tone Chloe is programmed with.

And that says a lot because Chloe is one, not a confrontational person, especially to a complete stranger where her main priority isn't a sweet greeting like normal but instead, borderline brawl. And two, feisty doesn't even come in a Chloe Beale's personality trait handbook and is a sight by itself if someone were to experience her wrath.

She can actually count on one hand the amount of times she has been _seriously_ upset with someone-mostly all ending up in high school (best four years of her life? Um, no) but other than that, she is probably the happiest person on the planet.

And since on the topic of high school, that's also what she was voted under in the yearbook for senior personalities. Not that that's relevant….

Anyways, the looks became natural and even sometimes people, instead of stalking her as she ate uncomfortably, come up to her and asks verbal questions either about herself, or Beca, or their relationship together.

" _Are you Chloe Beale?"_

"Yes?"

" _You're dating Beca Mitchell?"_

"Yes."

" _You guys are the cutest!"_

"Thanks!"

" _You two are literally….goals for relationships!"_

"Oh, thank you! That's sweet!"

" _How is Beca? I hear she is a real charmer."_

"I better be the only person she is charming! But yes, yes she indeed is."

And it is nice to hear all these positive things come from random people, knowing it's Beca who is their role model for music and dating the mastermind behind all the treasures, Chloe can't help but think she snagged up a rare one.

But like all relationships, there are negatives and sadly for long distance relationships, they seem to outweigh the positives in this scenario.

" _How do you guys survive with not seeing each other all the time? Plus with her workload. She must be extremely busy like...all the time."_

This is the type of question that always slumps Chloe.

She respects Beca's work. Honest to God she does. But why did the record company feel the need to keep her cooped up in a recording studio until the poor girl forgets her own name? She understands the process in creating an album, the steps they have to take and how time consuming it really is.

But Chloe can't help the days spent alone, phone damn near glued to her hand as she waits for _something-anything_ from Beca.

As far as the post failed Skype date, things have been going awesome for them. Beca talks to her every chance she gets when she is away from the studio. They have regular Skype dates again (this time neither of them forget,) and all around, they make a lot of time for each other.

Is it enough though? No. Of course not. Because there is that missing piece to the puzzle, one of the most important too, and that's the physical contact.

Call her selfish, or whatever the Hell you want but she misses her girlfriend. And the time difference as well as the distance apart isn't helping at all and she feels like it's getting harder and harder everyday not to think about it.

Chloe doesn't know for sure where all this came from, Beca and their relationship. One minute she is cooking dinner for Aubrey and then having a enjoyable conversation while they eat and then next, her brain is short circuiting with all these doubts as she scrapes the leftover pasta off her plate and into the sink so she can get a head start in washing them.

Surprisingly, these thoughts don't come often. _Actually_ , Chloe can't even remember the last time she had an inner battle with herself during the _almost_ three months of talking to Beca. She assumes tonight though is just one of those nights that just bites her on the ass and she realizes how much she truly misses her girlfriend.

_Distance...you son of a bitch._

She hears her phone rattle over kitchen table's top and she walks over to retrieve it, soapy hands and all, and sees that it's a message from Beca. Instantly, her mood lightens and all her thoughts are thrown right out the window, forgetting every little negative thing regarding her relationship with Beca and she smiles like she usually does when she sees Beca's name fill her screen

_**Monday October 10, 8:34 PM** _

**B: Hi! :-)**

_C: Excited much? ;)_

* * *

_**Monday October 10, 9:03 PM** _

Chloe is drunk.

Not like the type of drunk you'd get after too many shots at the bar, room spinning and vision blurry. But the kind of drunk that fills her body with pure, vibrating happiness and all she can do is bounce on the heels of her feet with the largest splitting grin on her face that makes her cheeks burn until the feeling subsides.

It never does though, because the very moment once Chloe calms down from her tiny shot of adrenaline, she remembers the exact reason why she was going insane in the first place and again, that joy spreads right across her body like wildfire, making her bounce uncontrollably like a child once again.

This continues for what feels like hours; Chloe squealing into her pillows, with the occasional pounce from her sheets to take a lap around her room, bouncing wall to wall. Tank looks at her like she has gone mad, unamused and in dire need for a nap. Maybe some treats, or food, but mostly just a snooze.

She tries to relax. _Jesus_ , it's late, people-her neighbors for crying out loud are definitely trying to sleep. Which speaking of, she should be sleeping as well, knowing that she has class early tomorrow morning.

But it just sparks up inside her, every time she clicks her phone on and sees the picture of her and Beca kissing at the drive inn set for her screen saver, and she's right back to losing any sort of composure she is so desperately trying to grab a hold of.

_The end of October can't come soon enough._

_**Monday October 10, 9:10 PM** _

C _: Hi :)_

**Aubrey: Are you okay?**

_C: Yes, silly!_

_C: Actually, I'm perfect :D_

_C: Why wouldn't I be okay?!_

**A: You're texting me…**

**A: When we are literally right across the hall from each other...**

_C: I didn't know if you'd be asleep or not so I decided to be polite and just text you! Also, I'm going off of WAY too much energy right now and I know you'd probably want to strangle me…_

**A: And why are you the energizer bunny at this time of night?**

_C: :D_

_C: You have NO idea_

_C: Come here?_

**A: Why do I have to go to your room?**

**A: You're the one who wants to tell me something.**

_C: Because I'm cute._

_C: And I think I'm hitting my crash and my bed is just SO comfy._

_C: Please? :(_

**A: Ugh.**

**A: Fine.**

A knock on her door jolts her up from her position where she lays stomach down on her bed, head resting on the meaty part of Tank's hind legs. Opening the door, Aubrey, dressed is her usual sleepwear, rolls her eyes immediately before even a proper "hello" and shoves pass Chloe to sit on her bed.

"So?" Aubrey falls, butt molding to Chloe's bedsheets and groans when Chloe flops herself aggressively right next to her.

She was starting to find her chill as she laid down. But now, she can feel the anticipation buzz through her, refilling her veins with that once expired eagerness.

Aubrey gestures for Chloe to say something. Literally _anything_ to say in the English dictionary, other than receiving the manic smile and bulging eyes she is currently under. It's actually starting to scare her if she is being honest.

"We are going to California!" Chloe finally admits, bouncing on her mattress and moving Aubrey up and down with every movement. It's more of a scream than anything and she can tell it startles Aubrey at the max in volume.

"What? California?" Chloe nods her head erratically, almost positive she is about to tweak a muscle somewhere in her neck. "Wha….when?"

"At the end of this month! Beca has three day concert tickets for both of us, VIP by the way, and her boss is flying us out there!"

"Oh wow. That's...pretty awesome actually," Aubrey chuckles and Chloe knows her friend is trying insanely hard not to let her emotions show how truly excited she really is. Traveling has always been a soft spot inside a stickler like Aubrey.

"Stacie will be there too!" And she assumes Stacie is also a soft spot for Aubrey, especially since the mention of her name brings a slight blush to Aubrey's cheeks.

She would've teased Aubrey about it if other things weren't preoccupying her thoughts right now.

"We will be up in LA from the 29th to the 5th and we are staying at their apartment," Chloe decreases her level in volume, any louder her vocal cords might burst. She's already had surgery for nodes before. She doesn't need that to happen again.

" _Wow_ ," Aubrey breathes. "A whole week huh?" Chloe nods her head, biting her lip anxiously waiting for a verbal confirmation that Aubrey will want to go as well. With Chloe being hands in for the mini vacation (to see Beca,) it doesn't mean Aubrey shares the same excitement.

"Well….I guess it's a good thing I have that time off of school…" Aubrey stays casual; Chloe bites her lip harder, eyes pooling with joy. _A little….more…_ "And that neither you nor I have been to Los Angeles."

"So you're in?!" Chloe's hands grip at Aubrey's shoulders, twisting the blonde's body so that they're facing each other.

Aubrey bounces her head back and forth a few times, head in deep ponder until her face cracks a smile and Chloe doesn't need any further confirmation than that to engulf Aubrey into a bone crushing hug, bringing the both of them smack hard into her mattress. Squeaking at the force behind the action, Aubrey laughs and pleas for Chloe to let her breathe.

The both of them talk about everything Beca mentioned to Chloe; they'd be leaving Georgia Saturday morning to be able to make the first night showing of the music festival and all the other important details for the trip. Once Aubrey leaves, telling Chloe she still needs to get some sleep for class tomorrow, Chloe sets an alarm to remind herself to call the school and schedule time off in advance.

The earlier the better.

About the time she gets settled for bed, her nerves starting to sizzle out as exhaustion takes over her body, she turns off the lights in her room and falls into her sheets. As she finishes putting her retainer in and swiping off her glasses, her phone goes off once her head connects with the pillow.

At first, Chloe tries to read anything on the screen but realizes she is still, blind as a bat. Reaching over to grab her glasses, she is able to see that it's not only Beca texting her but also, gifting her with a single picture message. She rubs the sleep out of her eyes just under her glasses to get a better look and when she does this, her heart nearly jumps straight from her chest.

It's Beca holding up the tiniest little fur ball to press against her cheek and has the biggest beaming grin on her face Chloe has ever witnessed.

_**Monday October 10, 10:20 PM** _

**B: Hi Chloe! I can't wait to meet you! Mom has already told me sooooo much about you!**

**B: Weird. Cat just stole my phone…**

**B: But we are excited to see you :-)**

And then again, Chloe is tingling off with excitement just waiting for the time to come.

Guess any form of sleep is out of the question.

* * *

_**Saturday October 15, 10:34 PM** _

"Nice shirt. Where did you get it?"

" **This one nerd who was in a collegiate acappella group, singing covers of popular 80's songs."**

"Hey! Us Bellas were the _tits_ at Barden, thank you very much." Beca rolls her eyes; Chloe smiles though she is trying to be stern giving her defense. Beca might have just insulted her for singing acapella but _God_ , is she adorable.

The shirt is one of her favorites, now especially with the way the dark, forest green brings out the paleness of Beca's skin and true chocolate color of her hair.

Beca raises her hands up to surrender, sporting that trademark smirk of her's. " **What's on the agenda for tonight, Ms. Beale? I have a stomach full of Taco Bell so don't go forcing me to watch some nauseating, sappy, rom com because I'm not promising you I won't puke."**

"You're so dramatic! I know deep down you love those movies. You're just one big cheese ball under all that plaid and heavy make up." Chloe winks and again, Beca rolls her eyes. "Lucky for you, tonight is not a chick flick type of night."

" **Ohkay? Then what is it?"** Chloe flashes a suspicious smile that she assumes Beca catches by the way her eyes stretch as wide as saucers. " **Oh no."** Beca blinks, her body stone cold. " **Please tell me it's not what I think it is?"**

"Oh but it is." For dramatic effect, Chloe lifts her laptop to face her screen and the opening credits of _Halloween_ are playing on her TV. She hears a sharp gasp from Beca without even looking and emits an evil laugh when she turns the webcams back to her.

If there is anything out there that is possibly cuter than Beca Mitchell crumbling her badass image with the stricken look of straight terror washing over her face then let Chloe know.

Because honestly, she doesn't believe there is.

" **I'm starting to think you want me dead or something."** Beca looks at Chloe sideways.

"I don't want you dead! It's like….Halloween tradition to watch scary movies during the month of October!"

" **But you aren't here to cuddle with me."**

Chloe saves the "awe" that's on the tip of her tongue since she knows doing this will only be answered by an eye roll. It's not all the time but more so than ever, Beca is starting to admit to actually enjoy the cuddles given by herself and she isn't going to ruin her luck with Beca opening up and being honest just because she can't handle the cuteness of it all.

Plus, she got an adorable pout, which is a bonus all around.

" **And YOU won't have someone to cuddle with if I die from a heart attack."** Beca points forcefully at the screen, squinting her eyes but only earning a giggle from Chloe. Guess Drama Queen Beca decided to make a special appearance tonight.

"Oh you'll be fine you big baby, I promise," Chloe coaxes with a sweet smile. "Now cue it up and let's watch it!"

* * *

_**Sunday October 16, 9:12 PM** _

**B: How's your songs coming along for the concert? :-)**

_C: Good! We just decided as a class on which songs to perform :)_

_C: Any guesses?_

**B: Oh like there are SO many Halloween songs out there ;-)**

_C: It's not just Halloween songs! Yeah there's a few but we do covers too ;)_

**B: Turning your group of students into an acapella group, Beale?**

_C: Yes! And I'll have you know that they love it! :P Also, we have instrumental music so not acapella ;)_

**B: Oh my mistake ;-)**

_C: Hush!_

_C: They even get to dress up, which they're most excited for! I can't wait to see all their little costumes :)_

**B: Seems like a lot of fun. I wish I could see it. :-)**

**B: And costumes? Does the teacher take part in this "dressing up?"**

_C: Maybe ;)_

**B: Sneak peek?**

_C: Um, no!_

_C: Not until I get a sneak peek of what your costume is ;)_

**B: I told you this already. Not dressing up :-P Haven't since I was little.**

_C: Oh come on, Becs! It's Halloween! We can do something together? Don't they dress up at this festival we are going to?! :(_

**B: Yes….but I hate finding costumes. Takes too much energy and time…**

_C: I can't believe my girlfriend is the laziest person on Earth!_

_C: Please? We can pick them out together and be super cute :) I love dressing up!_

**B: ... :-/**

_C: Please, baby? I'll be sure to make it worth your while ;)_

**B: Oh really? What are we talking here? Like a lot skin, or incredibly tight clothes?**

_C: How about both? Plus some major boob cleavage ;)_

**B: Deal.**

**B: You had me at boobs.**

_C: Lol, such a charmer and very easy to negotiate with ;)_

**B: Sorry. Your bangin' body is my kryptonite, and your boobs are enough to make me want to sell my soul to.**

**B: And since we are on the topic of your body, how was your workout?**

_C: Great! Had yoga again tonight which was relaxing :)_

**B: I think you're damn near out of your mind for putting your body through so much exercise, especially this late at night.**

**B: My hands are currently in a bag of Doritos…**

_C: But it's so good for you, babe! Makes your body all strong and healthy :) We should try it sometime!_

**B: Absolutely not.**

**B: You can convince otherwise though.**

**B: Send me a pic.**

_C: Demanding? ;)_

_C: Can I get a please?_

**B: Please? xo :-)**

Receiving this message, Chloe stands from her bed and heads over to her full body length mirror. She isn't in the "best" shape as far as appearance, with no makeup on, her hair a mess, chest flushed and pieces of her bangs sticking to her damp forehead. The outfit she is wearing is super cute though-a pair of black Nike leggings and a cutoff, black shirt to show off a new fluorescent pink sports bra underneath. The tightness of the pants highlight her toned quads and the defined progress she has been making with her squats to her butt.

Lifting her shirt up, there is still a layer of sweat outlining the skin on her stomach, giving her a extra set of abs and a killer oblique now that she is looking hard. With that, she throws off her shirt to land inside her laundry basket, ready to take a picture.

It's just Beca anyways, not that she has a whole album of sexy pictures to hide. This isn't even that bad so it doesn't even matter nor is enough to be categorized as " _sexting_."

When she taps the button to take the pic and makes sure the pose is worthy enough for Beca's eyes or not,(casual, but made sure to push out the butt extra far for a visual effect," she settles with a press to the send button and flops back onto her bed.

Topless and all.

As she is looking at the picture herself, praising the way her mirror gained her like….three inches in length to her legs, Beca sends a single text back.

**B: Jesus Christ.**

_C: My name is Chloe…_

_C: But close enough ;)_

**B: You're so fucking hot.**

**B: Not to sound crass or anything. You're gorgeous all around but Jesus…**

**B: I might just want to work out with you if that means seeing you in that outfit every time.**

_C: If I can get you to go to the gym with me only half dressed, I can't even imagine the things I'd be able to squeeze from you if I was naked ;)_

**B: Anything you want, baby.**

**B: I wish you were here right now**

_C: I wish I was there too. Or vice versa._

_C: Oh the things I would do to you ;)_

**B: Wanna elaborate?**

_C: For a hint, all of it requires my mouth ;)_

**B: Fuck….**

**B: You're so good with that mouth of your's**

Chloe's breath hitches when she reads this last message sent by Beca. She is starting to think they're on different pages of the book as they swap texts. Clearly, and just her personality of being a natural flirt, she is joking. _Kinda_. But is Beca?

**B: God, I want to taste you.**

Yep. Totally not joking.

Chloe realizes this as the message hits her like a ton of bricks. Before she even touches her fingers to the keyboard while bouncing sentences, or words to respond to a message like that, Chloe's phone vibrates in her palm, letting her know she is receiving a call.

After staring at Beca's name glowing on her screen for a handful of seconds, she boldly swipes the bar to answer the call before she misses it. "Hello?" Chloe asks shaky. She has a hunch that Beca is calling her for a reason and that reason alone is nerve racking.

" **Are you by yourself?"**

"Yes?" Chloe asks as a question, taken back by the quickness.

" **What are you doing?"** Chloe gets slapped in the gut with how incredibly low Beca's voice is-totally different from their previous phone calls. It's basically a deep purr, and is strong enough to flutter Chloe's stomach and light a fire in the pit.

"I uh, um…" Suddenly, Chloe's tongue feels like it's too big for her own mouth and her heart is racing so fast it might as well just leap from her chest.

Again, Chloe Beale is not the type of girl that gets nervous-similar to how to felt when meeting Beca's dad for the very first time. People don't have this effect towards her, causing straight gibberish to exit from her mouth. But this is enough to tweak her out a bit, knowing exactly why Beca decided to call her instead of resuming their chat through text.

Chloe's not dumb.

She's overheard her fair share of late night convos when her roommate in college before she moved moved into an apartment with Aubrey assumed Chloe was sleeping those nights and was talking to her long distance boyfriend over the phone. She's overheard the raunchy comments-the moans, the heavy breathing. It was definitely not something for another person's ears and it was a good thing she continued to fake sleep before she caught a glimpse of other movements that shouldn't be seen by anyone else.

And being familiar with this, she knows exactly what Beca is hinting towards.

Chloe has never had phone sex before. Not that she is opposed to it-it is just one of those things that never really came up before. It just always seemed sort of strange and silly to her. _Real_ sex is far more appealing-which is something that her and Beca haven't done yet, let alone has she done with another woman. Would through the phone even count as that? Is she even ready for this next leap in their relationship?

And when battling all these inner thoughts between her ears, it should've pumped the brakes right then and there, forcing Beca to stop whatever it is that she's doing. But it didn't. If anything it intrigues Chloe even more and that's why she wants to urge Beca to continue.

Guessing that Beca senses her uneasiness, " **I don't want to rush you or anything. The last thing I want is for you to feel uncomfortable around me,"** She comes out with this. Beca's sweetness about the whole situation only swells Chloe's heart until it travels all the way down her body till it reaches the area between her legs and she feels a shift in body temperature as her skin starts to warm.

This is all extremely new to Chloe, (Beca being this horny) but it also seems to take all the pressure away that she usually feels when physical sex is involved. Maybe trying something new will make it less scarier when the actual time comes along for her and Beca. And who is she to turn down a little experimenting with the girl she loves? Definitely not the, "go big or go home" Chloe Beale she was raised out to be.

All she needs to do now is to get over this stage fright to really get into it.

" **I love you so much,"** Beca whispers, sounding the most sincere that Chloe has ever heard her, not counting the time at the drive inn when they first admitted this feeling to each other. And like a spell that granted all the courage Chloe needs, that once bugging stage fright is gone.

"What is it that you love so much?" She retorts back, sounding equally as raspy and low.

Beca gives a low chuckle, coiling Chloe's insides at the deepness, " **I'm guessing you want the specifics rather than me saying everything, right?"** Chloe tries not to swoon by Beca's precious word choice and hums in response, unable to say anymore. She is trying to be sexy here _dammit_.

" **Where do I even start?"** A few seconds of silence takes over the call while Chloe eagerly waits before Beca starts speaking again, " **I love your hair and how it's redder in the sun compared to in the shade or dark where it's more of an auburn color. I love your eyes...there's really nothing else to say about those weapons other than they're bluer than blue. I love your smile. God, your smile could cure cancer if wanting to."**

Chloe appreciates the route Beca is taking with this question, making sure she is comfortable with the idea. She doesn't dive straight into dirty talk-which Chloe is thankful for- and kind of fluffs the conversation first.

Kinda like foreplay for phone sex in a way.

" **I fucking love your laugh, and the way the corners of your eyes crinkle from the height in your cheeks. I love your lips and how your kissing can go from soft and tender to rough and powerful in a blink of an eye."** Beca sounds so _different_ but in the best way possible. It's almost too sexy for Chloe to cope with.

"Tell me more," she manages to croak in her best attempt to sound as coy as humanly possible. It's no higher than a whisper but she is shocked anything at all came out when she opened her mouth.

Complements from people are nice.

Complements from Beca are even _nicer_.

" **If you were here,"** Beca says. " **I'd lick your lips. I'd lick you everywhere."**

This is on the lighter side of dirty talk but nonetheless does it not flip Chloe's arousal like a light switch. Her body heats up even more as she starts to feel a faint throb in between her legs. With restless hands, she moves one up her nude stomach until her fingers slide just under the tight elastic band of her sports bra and feels the curve underneath her breast.

"Where are your hands?"

Beca hums low, " **one's on my chest, the other is in my pants...right where they should be."**

Chloe closes her eyes and takes easy breaths not to whimper at the newly placed image in her head. She's stronger than that. "I don't believe you."

There's another short period of silence, other than the fumbling around on Beca's end of the call. Not long though, Chloe's phone chimes in her ear with a new message and when she pulls the device away, she is given visual proof that Beca's hands are exactly where she said they were.

Chloe can't help the moan that escapes pass her mouth this time as she stares at a pair of familiar sweatpants, with a defined lump under the material that connects to the torso of none other than her girlfriend's. One leg is bent while the other one lays flat against her mattress. The tank top Beca is wearing is clumped and pushed up pass her navel, showing off her stomach and proving that where her hand was at before taking the picture was also true as well.

" **Do you believe me now?"** Beca's voice brings Chloe back out of her dazed stare towards the image and finally the phone is back to her ear. She is seriously about to pass out if she continues to listen to this sexy transformation in octaves Beca is putting her through. " **Are you touching yourself?"**

Another moan slips by Chloe's lips, half because of what Beca just said and half because of where her hand is currently massaging. "Yes," and she positions the phone between her shoulder and ear to hold in place so her other hand is free.

" **I love the noises you make,"** Beca takes her turn to moan through the speaker and it's the last push Chloe needs before her hand is skimming under the waistband of her leggings and under the flimsy lace material of her thong. " **You are so fucking sexy."**

Though Chloe feels _everything_ but sexy right now-thanks to her post workout nastiness, leaving her skin to feel sticky all over with sweat, hearing it from Beca makes her feel differently.

Her fingers reach the throbbing part between her thighs that seeks needed attention, wetness coating each finger immediately and her mind drifts off to fantasize where Beca's hands are touching over her body.

"Baby..." It's a whine of a whimper but is all Chloe could muster up. She is burning up all over, her brain is near mush and the pressure in her stomach is so tight it's hard to think about anything else at the moment.

"Baby, I'm so _wet_ ," an understatement that is. She is soaked if she's being honest, not that she is surprised with the effect Beca's tonality currently has on her. Chloe cries through the phone, using her finger to apply more pressure on the throbbing area that's literally driving her insane. "I wish it was you touching me right now."

" **Me too, baby. I'd pump my fingers so hard against your pussy….no wait. Uh, fuck that. Pretend like you just didn't just hear me say those words. Jesus, that wasn't sexy at all."** Appalled at what she just said, Beca mutters a "fuck" under her breath.

Chloe can't help but laugh-which is a quick change in emotions. "I think so," though Chloe was more than a little taken back by the earful of pure raunchiness Beca just said to her, it didn't have any effect on the tension building beneath her fingers. If anything, being able to still laugh with her hand down her pants made her body even _hotter_.

Chloe adjusts herself better on her bed, spreading her legs to give more access-even under the tightness of the clothing.

 _Worst_ decision ever.

Not wanting to dwell on Beca's previous comment, "I bet you're so good with your hands," Chloe works up the courage as the pressure builds under her delicate fingers. "The practice you get mixing your music, twisting the dials and flicking all the buttons like the _expert_ you already are. I can only imagine them... inside me." Thinking about this only pushes Chloe to rub harder against her nub that's suddenly turned so sensitive it's almost impossible to touch. "But the thought that really turns me on is what other stuff you can do with that skilled tongue of yours."

This time Beca's moan has no intention of being quiet and it's all around the sexiest thing Chloe has ever heard someone make before. " **Oh fuck,"** Her breathing is becoming more ragged by the second, mixing with the labored pants coming from Chloe.

Nothing is really said between the two of them now. They are pretty much just going off of each other's heavy breathing and soft moans. Chloe is near her breaking point as her fingers circle faster, keeping a steady pace with the help of her other hand squeezing the soft flesh under her sports bra. It isn't until Chloe catches the sound of a door opening on Beca's end of the call when all her movements freeze.

" **Hey Beca I was…..HOLY SHIT!"** All Chloe is able to pick up is screams, probably Beca's, and her petrified pleas to have the unannounced visitor get out immediately-which happens to be Stacie.

" **You guys were totally having phone sex! Oh my God, Becs! I thought I told you to go to Starbucks for that shit!"** Stacie seems every bit amused by the scene, as weird as it sounds, and despite the reality of it all, Chloe can't help but laugh as she waits until the line cuts off from being disconnected, or Stacie finally leaves the room.

It doesn't take long; a few "fuck offs" from Beca and a couple begs from Stacie, asking for the "steamy deets," before they're once again alone with a slam to a door.

Beca releases a heavy groan with a fall to her bed-it sounds like-while mumbling something incoherent into a face full of pillows.

"Talk about ruining the mood," Chloe jokes with a small chuckle, easing the situation up-well at least trying to.

Beca laughs-a shaken, still slightly traumatized laugh, but at least it is something. " **I should probably go explain things."** This time there isn't an object muffling her voice and she speaks clearly with another dramatic groan. Also her tone seemed to lose its deep timbre, much to Chloe's dismay. " **I'm sorry about that."**

"No worries," Chloe assures genuinely-though her hormones clearly disagree. There's places on her body that shouldn't be hot and there's an annoying ache between her legs that causes her to flinch every time she moves but other than that, it is quite funny what just happened. Most definitely a campfire story that's for sure. "Text me?"

" **Will do. I love you, babe."**

"I love you too. Bye." Chloe hangs up, winded and suddenly exhausted but not any less horny.

 _God_ , what a shame. She didn't even get to finish.

Despite not wanting to move and instead, finish what Beca started right then and there since her hand is still most certainly under her pants, she retracts it back and decides to get up.

She fumbles to stand up from her bed, her legs are more than a little wobbly because of obvious reasons, and it takes a while for them to catch their strength again. Slowly but surely, she makes it to the bathroom and splashes some cool water over her flushed face after washing her hands. Drying off with a nearby towel, she grabs the sides of the sink and takes a good look at herself in the mirror.

She can't believe that just happened.

It's as equally exhilarating as it is surprising. Other than being one big ball of joy to the world, her other physical trait would be sexually frustrated, no thanks to being single for so long. She's masturbated many times before;she's human, so touching herself isn't the big surprise of the night. The thing that _is_ the most surprising has a name, and that name is Beca Mitchell.

Never in a million years would she even picture Beca doing that with her- let alone with someone else. Where did that sudden confidence come from? Chloe has absolutely no idea. But the thought of Beca letting loose though is fucking too hot for words-which isn't helping her current situation between her thighs that's in dire need of attention. Talk about being blue balled.

She makes a mental note to thank Stacie later when they all meet.

An ice cold shower is calling her name and as she is back inside her room, picking out some pajamas from her drawers to change into, her phone goes off.

_**Sunday October 16, 9:58 PM** _

**B: God, kill me now.**

**B: She won't stop talking about it**

**B: And she is being SUPER vulgar and I seriously feel like my face is melting off.**

Chloe laughs, despite her sympathy towards Beca, knowing she got the rough end of things since she was the one caught. Chloe could just picture Stacie teasing Beca non stop until she is red in the face and hiding from the world under her imaginary shell.

_C: Tell her to stop teasing you or she'll have to face a very angry redhead when her girlfriend dies of embarrassment ;)_

_C: That had a sudden change in events...lol_

_C: Have you done anything like that before?_

**B: I know. I'm sorry. I forget sometimes I live with the nosiest person ever and one who lacks knocking skills.**

**B: But no I haven't. First time actually. I've never felt comfortable enough with someone to try it. And that picture you sent only added to how I already felt tonight.**

**B: Hopefully I wasn't too bad haha**

_C: Bad? Beca, I think this should be a regular thing between us! And seriously, just your voice could've gotten me off. You were perfect ;)_

**B: That's good to know ;-)**

**B: I was ify on calling you. I didn't want you to think it was weird or anything. It's….ridiculous at first, I know.**

_C: But eventually you get into it, and I felt comfortable around you :)_

_C: I'm really glad you called :)_

_C: Depressed that we didn't get to finish but happy we got to test it out :)_

**B: Same here :-)**

**B: We can try that again later when there's no one around?**

_C: Yes please :) hopefully no interruptions this time ;)_

_C: But now that it's okay to ask, why didn't we just Skype? Don't get me wrong, the whole new world I just discovered with phone sex is exhilarating and all but wouldn't it be more exciting if we saw each other...you know….touch ourselves?_

**B: Yes it would be.**

**B: But I don't want to see your body for the first time through a crappy webcam. I don't want to know how your body reacts to a certain touch. I want to do that myself.**

**B: Through the phone, I can use my imagination you know?**

_C: Trust me. I know ;)_

_C: But it totally makes sense. I want our first time to be new territory for the both of us and getting a preview through Skype wouldn't be building to this image I now have inside my brain of what spot on your body makes you moan the way you just did ;)_

_C: Now excuse me. A very cold shower has my name written all over it._

_C: Thanks to you ;)_

**B: Oh you're no saint here, Beale.**

**B: Just ask my underwear.**

_C: Should I start bragging now or later?_

_C: When I see you maybe? ;)_

**B: Uh, how bout never?**

**B: But can you blame me? You're the sexiest human being I've ever met. And you're even sexier when you're moaning.**

_C: Okay, baby? If you keep saying things like that I'm going to explode. Unless you are here to finish, I'm going to take a shower ;)_

**B: Take me with you :-(**

_C: Raincheck? Maybe use it when we are….I don't know. Together? ;)_

**B: Wait…**

**B: Are you serious?**

_C: Welp! Just turned on the water!_

_C: Gotta go bb ;) xoxo_

**B: Not this again!**

**B: CHLOEEEE!**

* * *

_**Tuesday October 17, 12:03 AM** _

True to her word, they try again, not that Chloe was expecting the conversation to happen literally the day after Beca was caught red handed by Stacie. She would've thought that Beca would at least be a little too scarred to test her chances again, knowing the amount of embarrassing pain she went through last night in that tiny little body of her's just didn't evaporate away.

Beca isn't a very sexual person. She isn't promiscuous and most definitely doesn't seem like the type of girl who would be the first to engage in a phone sex conversation with her girlfriend. If anything, Chloe would be the first to drop a dirty text message here and there, half as a joke to see how Beca would react and half to satisfy her needs. Beca is extremely shy and covers most of her emotions with a simple eye roll and that insanely sexy smirk of her's.

But the Beca currently calling Chloe at midnight on a weekday, proving to redeem herself from their previous chat through the phone is _everything_ but shy. And that alone excites Chloe and terrifies her all at the same time.

This time, Beca made sure to call at an hour that is more ideal for privacy compared to yesterday. What they don't need is another outburst if they plan on continuing what they started.

" **Hey,"** Beca's simple greeting is low, raspy and Chloe wonders if it's possible just to get off by the single word. " **Sorry again for yesterday."**

"Don't be sorry. You had no control of…. _that_. It's not like you planned on Stacie barging into your room with your hand down your pants," Chloe jokes with a small snicker, trying to at least lighten the mood and make Beca laugh about the situation now that it's over.

Luckily, Beca does laugh and it's lifting. " **Yeah...not one of my proudest moments. Definitely most scarring that's for sure."**

"I mean...it was good up until…. _that_ point," Chloe says casual and by good, she means hot. Very, _very hot_ in fact.

" **Yeah?"** It's a simple question;one worded even. But why is it that Beca can make something so simple like this sound _so_ damn sexy? " **It wasn't like...weird or uncomfortable?"**

Chloe scoffs at this.

No it wasn't weird. Shocking at first, maybe, but that's only because she has never taken part in such a phone call before. They usually consist of a more PG rating conversation and not the X-rated comments the both of them were dropping left and right last night. The dirty text messages came easy; Chloe has sent her fair share of those types of messages to ex partners in the past. The thing that took her blind sighted was the verbal dirty talk, especially coming from Beca.

And it took a while but eventually, Chloe got into it. _**Really….**_ got into it. So, that should be enough confirmation to let Beca know she wasn't freaked out by anything that happened.

"Becs, it was nice," Chloe assures with a smile, even though Beca obviously couldn't see it.

Clearing her throat, " **Do you think we could try…again? Or whatever."**

_Oh my God._

"Now?"

" **Yeah. If you want."**

Chloe gulps, hopefully not too loudly in case Beca is able to hear it. "S-sure," and to add, her voice cracks like a teenage boy hitting puberty. Why is she so nervous again? It's not like this is new to them. "I'd like that."

" **I mean, if you're not in the mood or whatever…we don't have to."**

"I'm _always_ in the mood for you," Chloe's quick and honest to retort.

Becs chuckles and it comes out nervous. At least it's a mutual feeling they're both sharing. " **Cool."** Faint music can be heard in the background; Chloe bites the inside of her cheek not to comment. Nothing like The Weeknd to set someone in the mood incase it wasn't already set before.

It doesn't last long though before the opening chords to a very familiar song reaches Chloe's sense. She waits for Beca to comment about the changing with music, as if Beca hasn't been informed about what impacts the song "Titanium" does to her body.

Dirty trick, Mitchell. _Dirty trick._

" **I uh, how are you?"** Chloe knows for sure now Beca is a lot more nervous than she was last night by the hesitation in her voice. She also knows that Beca was the one to instigate the conversation yesterday and doesn't want to take the same route this time around.

It's her turn to _heat_ things up a bit.

Taking mercy on Beca, twisting up a smirk, "I'm fine. I'd be better with you here though." Chloe licks her lips, her mouth suddenly gone parch.

" **Yeah?"** _Fuck_. There's that Goddamn single worded response again, still having the same effect as before. " **How so?"**

"Well, we most definitely wouldn't be talking on the phone right now-which would be a plus by itself." Chloe giggles, biting the nail on her finger between her teeth.

" **What would we be doing?"** There's that intoxicating sound again. It's Beca's ridiculously arousing "I'm so horny" voice that has suddenly worked its way up to the top of Chloe's most favorite things to hear.

Chloe is quick to move from her position standing at her bathroom sink to her bed, knowing that this conversation needs to be done sitting down.

 _Laying_ down to be most comfortable.

"Well to start, you'd be helping me get rid of all these tedious clothes."

Dressed in far more accessible wear, with Beca's black and white flannel that happens to be fully unbuttoned, a laced black bra underneath and matching panties to finish, her hand is able to venture around her body more smoothly.

" **What are you wearing right now?"**

Not being much of a descriptive person and more so a visual learner, Chloe this time angles her camera above her body, making sure to get all the good bits in the photo and takes a picture before sending it to Beca.

"You'll see," Is all she replies with. Confirmation that the picture has been sent and seen comes when she hears a sharp whine through the phone.

" **You're wearing my shirt,"** Beca's smugness can almost be heard through the phone.

Chloe trails that single finger snagged between her teeth over her collarbone to linger across her chest, tracing the smooth skin underneath. "Indeed I am."

" **You look so damn hot in my shirt,"** Beca growls; Chloe tries not to unravel, turned on so intensely by the heavy snarl that followed.

"I look even better with it off." Chloe battles back. With the building of the song and Beca's voice soothing through her ear, she switches that lone finger to her full hand and slowly descends it lower until her palm is filled with her lace covered breast.

She arches her back into the touch, the pleasure of it all only doubling when she replaces her hand with Beca's. Doing this brings her back to their night alone together, making out like rebellious teenagers and how Beca's hands were so petite and soft but _oh so_ firm and strong at the same time.

" **I want to hear you, baby. Touch yourself for me."** Beca's demanding instructions do intense damage on Chloe's insides and she's thankful that she is laying down because if she wasn't, she knows for a fact her knees would've given out.

Obeying, she doesn't waste a second before her hand covering her chest is roaming down her abdominal, slowly, and her fingers slip back under to rub against wet territory.

 _Goodness_ , it should've been embarrassing how wet she is by just the sound of Beca's voice.

She is literally _dripping_ with need.

"Is your door locked this time?" Chloe cracks a joke in between her heavy breaths, her fingers not once stopping their motions.

Beca also shares a laugh, dark and raspy and all around sounds sexy as Hell, " **I did. No one is interrupting us this time."** A throaty moan comes next and in Chloe's mind, she pictures Beca hands as well hovering over her own sensitive areas. And as she pictures this, her own arousal almost triples and hits her harder than the previous night.

She doesn't know the facial expressions Beca makes when touching herself like she wants to but the imagination part of it all is exciting alone.

It's really a bittersweet type of torture.

" **I want to hear you** _ **come**_ **."**

Every last bit of sanity Chloe has left in her body is washed away by the one word that is pure filth to Chloe's ears. But to her body, it's a tingling jolt that one would get if experience a DIY shock treatment and her eyes roll to the back of her head in pleasure while that familiar pressure boils in her stomach.

Not feeling pleased with her arrangement, Beca gets put on speaker and set next to her head over the pillow while her now free hand snakes just under her bra, squeezing the already hardening flesh between her fingers, only adding to her levels of tension building inside.

"Baby…" Chloe's voice gives out at the end, not having the proper amount of air capacity, or strength to say anymore.

" **I'm so wet for you."** Chloe chooses only to mix her moans with Beca's own as a response while her finger circle tightly around her sensitive nub. Talking is not an option for her right now, but listening to Beca, backed with the increasingly building beat of "Titanium" is far more enjoyable. " **Fuck….I wish I could see you come undone, baby."**

Well, Beca's about to hear it happen real soon because Chloe is rapidly approaching her climax as her breathing sharpens and becomes a lot quicker. Apparently, Beca is right behind her, moans exiting almost back to back through the speaker and it's a mysterious thrill to know Beca could burst at any second without knowing.

Needing more and figuring with anymore teasing, Chloe might explode if she doesn't release this pent up tension sometime soon, her fingers switch movements from rubbing to thrusting, coating the two newly placed digits with her warm, wet juices.

" _Shit_...baby.." She wants to say her fair share of dirty talk, the thought by itself could really bring out her the visualization going on inside her head. But the change in motions have a tight control over what she can and cannot say, triggering an immediate babble if to talk any longer.

" **I wish it was you here….your head between my thighs and my fingers knotting through your hair while your mouth sucks my breath away."**

Chloe has to replace her bottom lip that's being gnawed on with the collar of Beca's flannel, not wanting to break through the skin she could already feel her teeth sinking into.

"Beca.." Chloe pants as her fingers curl in and out, thumb now joining the mix and falling into a smooth rhythm to circle around the sensitive bud between her thighs.

" **I'm thinking about fucking you and shit, baby….it makes me so fucking wet hearing my name drip off your tongue when you moan."**

Beca is being extremely vocal, not that Chloe minds. Nope. Doesn't mind _one_ bit if by the sounds of her own moans only gradually increasing were anything to confirm this.

" **I want to taste what you taste like."** There's a max level at how one person's tone can sound so _humanly erotic_ and Chloe's positive Beca has now met that peak.

She couldn't respond even if she tried, knowing she'd just be speaking in tongue with complete nonsense if she were to open her mouth any farther than it already is with the amount of panting she is doing.

Chloe's eyes are sealed shut and actually, she doesn't think she has opened them even a smidge since this whole arrangement started. Hips start to match movements with her fingers to apply more pressure and she feels her stomach clenching tighter every grind to her hand.

This pressure is a warning sign; Chloe is surely aware of knowing exactly when her body is about to unfold. "Beca….I'm close." Close as in 'a couple more thrusts and she's a complete goner.'

And though she might be reaching climax, the thought of Beca being nowhere near finished makes her want to slow down a bit.

" **I'm close too."**

At this information, Chloe doesn't slow her movements and instead, her fingers continue to slide in and out in a pattern that's starting to become sloppy but still hitting all the right buttons. Like clockwork, Chloe can hear the music reaching its end and the building bridge of the beat beginning to fade, along with the voluptuous sound of Beca's heavy breathing gives her that one last push she needs to cross that finish line.

" _Beca, oh my Go-..."_ Is all Chloe's able to get out before her orgasm swallows the rest of her sentence, leaving her back to arch up towards the ceiling and her thighs to clench around her hand while the ecstasy explodes throughout her body.

Chloe, although has never been the type of girl to be quite vocal during her climax feels the pent up screams bubbling inside her chest, begging to be released. Acutely aware of a sleeping Aubrey who is down the hall and would most definitely hear these noises, Chloe shoves her face into the top of her pillow to muffle any sounds that are starting to sneak out every time her body starts to thrash at the vibrating pleasure.

Seeing stars behind her eyelids and after the multiple mini shocks her body just endured, Chloe is finally able to catch her breath, chest heaving and skin all around laced with a thin layer of sweat.

Beca isn't far behind by the way her breathing is chopping in and out erratically. Wanting to help out, Chloe uses her last bit of energy to tip Beca right off the edge. "Come for me, Beca. I want to hear you."

Beca obeys immediately under that seductive, sultry type of whisper given by Chloe. " _ **Fuck, Chloe**_ **."** She shudders, any other words transforming into a breathless scream. It's silent for a few seconds, all the air leaving Beca's body and leaving the rest up for Chloe's imagination.

Hot doesn't even come close to describing how Beca just sounded. Hearing her unfold and _come_ pretty damn _hard_ , then listening to the aftermath of Beca riding out her high, the series of winded pants and inaudible cries of Chloe's name.

It's almost too much. Beca's hotness is almost _too_ much, even through the phone.

Removing her hand from her breast and grabbing her cell phone to press back over her ear, " _Holy…_.. _shit_." Chloe breathes, words hardly coming out audible as her body tries to rebuild after such an intense orgasm.

She retracts her hand slowly from out of her underwear, aware that she is still very much sensitive and any abrupt movement will cause a sharp shock throughout her body if touched wrongly. When her hand is free, she lays it flaccid against her stomach that's rising to a deep fall, trying to regain her breathing back to normal.

" **Yeah,"** Beca's chuckles are hoarse, her own post orgasmic bliss evident and lacing over her tone. " **That was fucking hot."**

Chloe finally opens her eyes but quickly squints at the sensitivity they have towards the lamp's light on her desk and she squeezes them back shut. "You're hot, Becs." This couldn't be anymore true. "Where did…. _all_ _that_ come from?"

" **I have a very detailed imagination, Beale. Especially when you're involved."**

Laying the side of her face over her pillow and letting the phone rest over her ear, "And you're promising me that you've never done that before?"

" **Nope. You** _ **are**_ **and** _ **will**_ **be the only one I ever do this with, I can promise you that."**

The realization that Chloe has been the only one to see this released side of Beca-which is her new favorite side of Beca- practically titters her off the edge again. "Is that a subtle way of telling me I should open my own hotline?" The corners of her mouth twist up to a lazy smile.

" **Maybe. If it's a chance to hear you moan like that again I'll pay every last cent I have."**

Chloe howls a laugh, her heart rate now beating at a steady pace to finally be able to do so without it coming out as a strangled wheeze. "You're something else, Mitchell."

" **So they say."** Chloe can just imagine the wink that came with this.

"You're also a dirty player for playing my lady jam in the background."

Beca gasps as if this is news to her, " **wha? I swear I had no idea."**

"Uh huh, _Okay…_ " Chloe snorts sarcastically. "It wasn't like Titanium just randomly _happened_ to begin playing when we started having phone sex."

" **Shuffle is a bitch I tell yah,"** Beca chuckles, keeping up this charade pretty well. " **Worked you up a bit though."**

"Yikes, babe. That's not something to go bragging about. It's like you couldn't get me off without playing my lady jam," Chloe taunts with a wry smirk, enjoying the few huffs she got from Beca in between each word.

Insulted, a dramatic scoff comes next, " **please. I could get you off no matter what was playing in the background. Even if it was silent."** Over confident Beca is _extremely_ sexy. Seriously, how many alter egos does this girl have?

There's that twitch between Chloe's thighs again at the challenge. "I don't believe you."

" **Good thing I don't have work until ten tomorrow huh?"**

Chloe reaches behind her back to unclasp her bra before swiping it off her arms in a swift motion, leaving her top half completely nude under Beca's flannel. "Good thing I'm horny again and could use a second round." Her free hand migrates back up her stomach to brush the underside of her breast. "And I'm _naked_."

Beca emits what sounds like a guttural growl, heavy and determined, " **Okay, Beale. Be prepared to be wowed."**

* * *

_**Friday October 21, 8:23 PM** _

_C: How was work my superstar? :)_

**B: Actually, pretty damn good.**

**B: I have some news for you….**

_C: Good or bad?_

**B: Depends.**

_C: Oh no... :(_

_C: Now I'm scared to ask what it is._

**B: I'll just tell you.**

**B: Are you familiar with Billboard magazine?**

_C: Uh, duh. Who isn't?_

**B: Well, someone, as in myself, got a call today asking to be the front cover of next week's issue**

**B: Now I definitely think I need a manager haha**

_C: WHAT?!_

_C: OH MY GOD BECA! That is GREAT news!_

_C: How dare you scare me like that :(((_

**B: Sorry ;-)**

**B: Listen to this. Beca Mitchell, a voice behind the beats.**

**B: Eh?**

_C: Um, yes to all of that!_

_C: This is so cool, baby! I'm so proud of you! :)_

_C: I have to make sure to buy all the copies when it publishes! :_ )

**B: Don't worry about buying any, I got you covered :-)**

_C: Hmmm, okay Mitchell ;)_

_C: So I'm assuming you're blowing up even more now that you showed your killer pipes to the world?_

**B: I guess so haha**

**B: Plus there is so much hype about the next single we are dropping called "Closer" that magazines of course are wanting to squeeze out the juicy details from me.**

**B: Jokes on them I'm harder to crack!**

_C: When is your next single coming out again?_

**B: Next Friday :-)**

_C: Same day as my concert! :)_

_C: Who is featured this time on the track?!_

**B: Sorry it's a surprise :-)**

_C: Boo, Beca :(_

**B: You'll hear it soon haha**

**B: Trust me, you'll love it**

**B: Anyways, how's the performance coming along?**

_C: Oh it's getting there. It's the last few weeks to perfect everything and kids are so hard to keep focused for a long amount of time :(_

_C: I'm so stressed I think I'm going to start breaking out!_

**B: Stressed? That's not good.**

**B: I know a few things to get your mind off of school.**

_C: Get my mind off? Or do you mean get ME off? ;)_

**B: Oh wow. Look at that. How about both?**

**B: I'm alone all night, Stacie is busy studying in the library till God knows when.**

_C: You'll take care of me, baby?_

**B: I promise you I will.**

**B: I really want to hear you moan.**

_C: Call me._

* * *

_**Friday October 28, 6:35 PM** _

Tonight is the night.

Chloe has been preparing for this moment for months now it feels like.

She knew nerves were going to happen regardless of her breathing exercises picked up from Aubrey, or the good luck messages she has been receiving from family and friends since she woke up this morning. It also doesn't help that in twenty four hours, she'll be on a plane to fly down to Los Angeles to meet her girlfriend she hasn't seen in a little over a month and that's bringing its own nerves to pile on.

She is ready though. Because if she wasn't, a month of hard work and dedication would be dumped down the drain and all those blood, sweat and tears would've been done for nothing.

Chloe paces and paces some more, her untied combat boots thudding across the floor. Just her luck, choir gets to open-which means they have to set the bar high.

For the concert, she settled on dressing up as Sally from _Nightmare Before Christmas_ since one of the songs her students are performing is from the movie. The getup was simple, a quilted mid thigh dress of yellows, teals and pinks, a red yarn wig-which is the most uncomfortable thing Chloe has ever put on her head. Even the black make up that is stitched along both sides of her cheeks is more tolerable than the level of itchiness this wig is giving her.

As a whole, it's a fairly cute costume, but still able to flaunt the goods without being too explicit for children and parents.

Beca comes to mind as her nerves start eating her alive. During the week, they've been talking nonstop about Beca's album, her concert and engaging in very sexual conversations throughout the night when they're feeling... _antsy_. Little did she know that those types of conversations would work up to set a place in her daily agenda.

Regardless, she's happy they did because if it weren't for Beca, she doesn't think she would've made it tonight to perform with the amount of stress that started building at the beginning of this month.

But today, Beca has strangely been playing ghost with Chloe, not replying to any of her texts-except for the permanent good morning one she always seems to receive when she wakes up.

It's bizarre though that today, of all days, Beca decides to go missing and Chloe knows Beca could possibly just be super cram packed with work since next week she is taking most of the days off.

But right now, Chloe _really_ needs some reassuring words from her girlfriend.

_**Friday October 29, 6:36 PM** _

_C: I may or may not be freaking out right now! There's so many parents and people here Becs. I think I might throw up._

Chloe presses send and takes a glance back out towards the auditorium and watches more and more people file in to take a seat across from the stage. Slowly but surely, the availability of seats are disappearing and seeing all these people should excite Chloe and not feel like the world suddenly stopped revolving.

She doesn't think she'd be as nervous as she is if it wasn't for the fact that this Halloween concert her school sets up every year has to be the most popular out of all the other concerts they put on. Knowing this high standard, her performance could really be a hit or miss and she _really_ does not want to be the main reason why the concert bombs.

If that was the case, she could kiss her student teaching career goodbye.

It's now ten till show time and Beca has _yet_ to text her back. Beca promised multiple times during the month she'd be as present as she can to calm her down once her choir performance came around. But is she here right now?

 **No**.

So, Chloe tries to call her this time, not able to keep her anticipation at bay as she waits for a message. Maybe Beca just didn't hear her text tone or something.

" **Hey, babe,"** Chloe almost explodes with relief when she hears the sound of Beca's voice. It's a weird effect but just talking to Beca, hearing that soothing voice after not talking to her all day is able to calm Chloe down tremendously. " **What's up?"**

_Really?_

Is Beca seriously asking this? Oblivious to the fact of what tonight actually is? And why does she sound so damn casual right now when Chloe is on the other line about ready to pass out cold backstage?!

"I'm about to go on for my concert," Chloe hides the bitterness in her tone pretty well. She doesn't want to be upset with Beca because she might've forgotten with everything that goes on in her busy schedule.

" **Oh shit that's right,"** Okay, that doesn't help Chloe not want to strangle Beca through the phone. There's chattering in the background, Chloe hears and she waits, unimpressed, as Beca puts her on hold. _The audacity this girl has._ " **Hey, I'm sorry. Busy day at the studio. I'm going to have to call you back."**

"Are you serious?" Chloe's patience after running thin for quite the while has finally disintegrated and now there's no armor to stop the harshness from spilling out her mouth. "You're just going to leave? _Dammit_ , Beca, you know how important tonight is for me!"

" **I know...I'm sorry, babe."**

"Don't you dare " _babe_ " me right now, Beca!" Chloe snaps quite loudly and receives multiple stares from other teachers around where she's at backstage. Lowering her volume this time and walking away from the audience her tone just formed, "I'm freaking out right now about my very first concert and you can't even wish me luck, or give me a goddamn good luck text? What the _fuck_ Beca?"

It's not everyday Chloe drops the 'f' bomb and she's surprised she hasn't picked it up from Beca with the amount of times her girlfriend says the word. Beca probably says fuck more times than her own name if Chloe were to guess.

Beca sighs, " **Chlo, I'm sorry. I really need to go,"** and before Chloe can even say anything to stop her, there's a beep in her ear that ends the call.

Forget not being upset with Beca because right now, Chloe is _**livid.**_

She slams her phone back into her purse and storms back to the stage where her students are waiting for curtain call. At least her kids, dressed in all sorts of adorable Halloween costumes, are making her less want to rip someone's head off and able to appreciate their creative cuteness.

She has never been this angry at someone before and she never would've thought that it be Beca to cause her body so much anger. Even the night Beca forgot about their Skype date, Chloe was upset but she wasn't _mad_ about it. She didn't even think it was possible to experience this level of emotion.

And now thanks to Beca, she has to go out and perform for the first time with steam blowing out of her ears and the absence of her sunny, bubbly personality her kids are most familiar with.

"Are you guys all ready!?" She puts on her best fake smile with a clap to her hands, even though under her lips she is about to break teeth at the incredible force her jaw is clenching at.

The kids all cheer and it brings Chloe out of her current raging state for a brief moment. She takes her deep breaths and blinks back the tears pooling in her eyes, half not wanting to ruin her costume make up and half not wanting to crumble in front of her students. When there is a lot of anger bubbling inside of Chloe, she usually ends up crying. There's really no way around that.

And she can't dare to walk on stage to a crowd full of parents with black makeup running down her cheeks that Aubrey has worked so hard on. There will be bright lights so obviously the puffiness and redness from the crying will glow up on stage for everyone to see.

But she's already biting at the nails nervous already, Beca is MIA in California, and that reminder keeps reeling Chloe back into the pit of pure frustration and she's back to square one as anger fills her body up to the brim, threatening the tears to fall any second.

_Goddamit, Beca!_

"Ms. Beale?" One of the stage managers puts his hand on Chloe's shoulder to break her focus. She turns around with tight lip grin, seeing that it is one of the eighth graders here at school, a pair of headphones around his neck, a clipboard in his hand and a bright orange shirt that reads, "crew" on the back. "Are you guys ready?"

 _Of course it's already 7,_ Chloe thinks to herself. She tries to slow her breathing, consciously taking deep inhales through the nose and letting them run smoothly out her mouth. After repeating this a few times, she forgets about everything just happened, locks up the pent up anger toward Beca and puts on her best enthusiastic mask before walking out on the stage with her kids in formation.

Not even a full foot on the stage before the crowd starts to clap and whistle at the little sixth graders who are already marching to get in order on the designated stands placed in the middle. Chloe beams her dazzling smile as she waves nervously around to everyone clapping, hoping her emotions aren't showing like she feels like they are.

Most of the faces are unfamiliar, except Aubrey, who sits front and center with a portable video camera, a reassuring smile along with a thumbs up and it makes Chloe relax a little. It isn't until she hears the most obnoxious whistles come from out of the audience and she looks towards the back where the noise is coming from and sees that intoxicating smirk that caused her so much pain not even ten minutes ago.

And when she catches this, it feels like time is slowing down.

"Oh my God," Chloe freezes on stage, forgetting where she is at that moment, or if she is looking at a ghost under listening to her heartbeat pulse through her ears.

Locking eyes, Beca wiggles her fingers up to wave where she is standing at the back of the auditorium, Stacie glued directly at her side, who Chloe finds out is causing that piercing whistle and she knows now that what she is looking at is definitely not a ghost.

Standing guilty as ever, Beca shrugs her shoulders, lifting her hands up with them and mouths "sorry," but Chloe knows she is everything but sorry under that plastered evil smirk of her's. There is an explicit amount of happiness rushing through Chloe's body, mixed with post anger and nerves still, and it takes every muscle in her body not to sprint out into the crowd, do something rash, and smother Beca in kisses for everyone to watch. Probably start crying too, knowing herself and how she is only a room away from Beca instead of two thousand miles and she's trying extremely hard not to bawl her eyes out at the overwhelming feeling.

The silence from the audience is a reminder of where she is and how that wouldn't be possible due to the fact that she has a concert to perform. So, whirling back into reality for the time being after blowing Beca a kiss under impressed eyes as the girl was able to pull this off, she greets the crowd with an upbeat attitude now that she has a reason to perform extra well.

_Beca is here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, I'm using the song "Closer" by the Chainsmokers ft. Halsey for the next single Beca and Diplo drop, if you all are curious (Don't own this) :) Check it out though if you haven't already!  
> Also, I'm really conflicted if I should stay at Chloe's POV for the trip or Beca's… hmmmmm?


	15. New City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys seriously are the best. Thank you all for reading and I'm seriously so pumped that you guys are enjoying this story. Just a heads up, we are about three fourths of the way through this story and I hate to say it but it's coming to an end :(  
> BUT NOT YET!  
> So with that, I present another chapter that happens to be my favorite :)  
> Now available to read on ff.net if you prefer to read it there! OmACAgee

_**Friday October 28, 7:43 PM** _

The concert goes better than Chloe could've ever imagined it going.

Well, _her_ part that is.

Nothing seriously _bad_ happens-though one little boy in particular, dressed as superman and pale as ever almost blows chunks as he is singing "This Is Halloween" all over the stage. Weirdly and ironically, this same little boy also happens to be Aubrey's favorite since majority of the time the video camera glued to her hands is centered on him.

Instead of going the worst possible route, her students sing each performed song phenomenally-five to be exact- and they even receive a standing ovation from the audience when they finish. It brings Chloe to tears on stage as she curtsies and waves her "thank yous" to the roar of claps she receives from the audience-which really doesn't surprise her that's she's crying.

Happy tears though.

 _All_ happy tears.

Her overflowing happiness comes from the fact her choir class did a pretty damn good job tonight for being an opening act and her first ever concert but also, the reminder of two unannounced guests, sticking out like a sore thumb towards the back of the auditorium that really erupts the happiness like a volcano.

Stacie resumes to stick both her pinkies in her mouth, echoing that piercing whistle consistently above all the other cheers while Beca cups two hands over her mouth and yells so loud she turns blue in the face with her veins sticking out of her neck. Parents and other members of the audience-some dressed up, most of them are not- turn to look at where the boisterous sound is coming from but doing this, Beca and Stacie only cheer louder.

And it makes Chloe want to run out there, rip of this stupid itchy wig and shut Beca up by kissing her to death until they both can't breathe anymore let alone cheer. But like any other concert, she has to sit with her students in their designated seats to watch the other performances of the night, making that thought flush right down the drain.

So, she flutters under the applauds, mostly by Beca's and Stacie's, and instructs her students to move off the stage for the other group to merge in their place.

Usually, she'd be more than eager to watch all the other performances and pick up a few teaching strategies for future classes. But right now, knowing Beca is only a couple rows behind her, watching the band perform an instrumental cover of a spooky Halloween classic, it makes her want to pick at her skin when she realizes that something that she wants so badly but can't have is in the same vicinity as her for the first time in months:

And knowing that, It's absolute _torture_.

Chloe takes her fare share of peeks every once in awhile and is surprised that everytime she does this, Beca is staring right back at her, smug smirk and only a sliver of her eyes showing. Her body shivers under such a predatory glare, guessing Beca has similar thoughts about greeting each other rather than being forced to ogle at a painful distance.

All Chloe can do is stare and boy does she really _stare_. Beca's appearance is fancy and all around attractive as Hell, with her daily dark colored jeans, heeled boots and sleeveless, collared blouse, as well as her hair falling perfectly in loose curls. It's definitely making it almost _impossible_ to sit any longer in these cheap, uncomfortable recliners without getting a taste of something she's craved for so long.

Between sets, there's exchanged words, mostly coming from Beca and more along the lines of, "you look really hot" and "I want to kiss you right now" and it makes it that much harder to make it through the night.

Because let's face it, Chloe really wishes she was kissing Beca right now too.

She is so caught up in admiring all of Beca's curves that she hardly pays attention to the current set playing. Only when her arm is nudged by one of her students who is greatly fascinated by all the instruments on stage is when she's reeled out of her little trance on Beca and back focused on the stage.

Hopefully this concert flies by.

* * *

_**Friday October 28, 9:15 PM** _

Unfortunately, the concert ends a quarter past nine, roughly almost two hours since the time her class took the stage and was most certainly not a fastly paced performance as a whole. It seemed like every time a song ended and Chloe thought the concert was finally over, a new song would cue up, and then a song after that would do the same, and it was just this never ending train of songs that only filled Chloe's impatience to the brim when her girlfriend is _literally_ just a few feet away from her.

People just did not understand her needs and what she really needed was her hands on Beca, ASAP.

When the principal announces for all the classes to come up on stage for curtain call, all to be recognized one last time by their audience, Chloe near almost sprints up the stairs, knocking several kids down in the process and takes her bow. After receiving some more applauds from the crowd and the curtain falling, everyone meets backstage for a brief chat about the concert.

Chloe's mind is elsewhere during the entire spiel the principal is giving, her main focus is getting out of her costume and finding Beca as soon as possible.

"I do want to give Ms. Beale a round of applause for her very first performance being an out of the park homerun!" This snaps Chloe's attention back to the group by the sounds of cheers from all the middle school students and other co workers of her's. "Great job tonight! And I hope you enjoy your vacation," The principal concludes and _of course,_ Chloe blushes profusely because being the center of attention isn't her strong suit.

Everyone soon disburses, most of her students going on a rampage with over capacity energy as they scavenge for their parents out of the auditorium. Chloe greets a few parents of her students who are interested in meeting the mastermind behind the performance as well as tell her what a lovely show she has put on.

Mingling goes in briefly;it's late and she knows the kids are probably exhausted. She thanks them all for coming out and supporting the show before bidding her goodbyes so she can change into something far more comfortable.

She makes it back to the dressing room practically buzzing off of anticipation to find Beca. Throwing off her wig and combing through her knotted red curls underneath until the fall delicately over her shoulders, she changes into a simple pair of dark blue jeans and Beca's flannel (good luck charm) before whipping out her phone to send a quick text.

As she does this, she smiles like a schoolgirl when she already sees a couple messages from the girl she has been trying to get her hands on all night.

_**Friday October 28, 9:25 PM** _

**B: So, I'm kind of looking for this super hot and very talented music teacher who just put on a great show but I just can't seem to find her ANYWHERE.**

**B: Do you think you can tell her that I'm waiting outside by her truck?**

**B: And also to hurry because I might have a few things to give her.**

_**Friday October 28, 9:34 PM** _

_C: I think I know exactly who you're talking about ;) she's a very popular lady, you might be on the waiting list…_

**B: Though I hate sharing with a passion, I think I'll make an exception. You deserve all the attention you can get after a performance like that :-)**

**B: Take your time, I'll be waiting!**

_C: Lucky for you, everybody is almost gone so, I'll be out there soon, baby :)_

Bouncing on the heels of her feet in anticipation, Chloe hurries to shoves her phone back into her purse before she fixes up all her makeup, hair and lip gloss until her appearance is perfected. Taking one last look in the mirror, she heads out of the music room and down the halls to get to the parking lot where she parked her truck.

There already, like she said, is Beca leaned up against the passenger side door, arms crossed above her chest and looking hot as ever, along with Aubrey and Stacie who are chatting with similar grins. It's their first time meeting in person and Chloe's sort of bummed that she missed the initial reaction but figures Beca will enlighten her about the details later.

Beca catches her first as she is walking up to the truck with a lopsided grin and everything being carried in her arms gets dumped right into the street before she is sprinting over to meet Beca half way in bone crushing hug. She squeals the whole way there, the feeling of Beca being some sort of hologram still floating in the back of her mind. When she makes it though, small arms being wrapped around her waist, both of her feet leaving the ground and starts to be spun in the air, she realizes that being a hologram just wouldn't be true.

Chloe hooks her legs around Beca's hips in effort to help keep her steady; she's actually surprised Beca had all that strength in her tiny little body to hold Chloe up for this long. Actually now that Chloe thinks about it, Beca has zero to none upper body strength. At least she didn't back during her Georgia visit.

" _Fuck…_ " Beca grumbles and her voice shortening in and out between those ragged breaths. "I seriously think I...tweaked something in my back." The pain is evident in her voice but she continues to fight through it, too caught up in the moment to let Chloe go just yet.

Chloe vibrates with a loud laugh, only wrapping her arms around Beca's neck tighter, as well as her legs. Now _this_ is the Beca she has been dating for these last two months.

"I'll give you one of my signature back rubs tonight," Chloe promises.

Realizing that if she breaks her girlfriend, they'll never make it to California for a week of endless Hollywood adventures she has only been the _most_ anxious about for the past month, she unhooks her legs and sets her feet back steady on the ground. There's a brief separation while Chloe catches her balance but not even a second is wasted after when she is back engulfing Beca in a tight hug.

"I can't believe you're here right now," Chloe gushes, on the verge of tears but unlike last time when meeting Beca, she keeps them in. Though there's still a tickle to her nose and that knot is back to forming inside her throat, constricting each and every swallow. Maybe it's because this time she's spending a whole week with Beca and not just a few days.

Maybe it's because she has gotten a lot tougher and she's less emotional (not counting the times she's cried tonight).

"I missed you, baby," Beca mumbles a mouthful of red hair and there's a croak to her voice which Chloe knows is a sign from previous experiences that Beca is on the verge of crying as well. " _God_ , I missed you so fucking much." Arms only circling Chloe's waist tighter, she chuckles out a wet sound as her body starts to shake against Chloe's.

And hearing this, she can forget about anything she just said about being stronger this time around because she's right back to crying like a baby in the crook of Beca's neck.

Well, at least she lasted longer this time.

They take a few moments to themselves, savoring the hug. Beca smells like Beca and Chloe thinks she died and went straight to heaven. She pulls her face away from Beca's neck and the arms wrapped over her shoulder she moves both hands to wipe the tears from Beca's cheeks. "I missed you too, Beca." She curves a watery smile while her emotions are trapped on a roller coaster of a ride at being able to see her girlfriend face to face after so long.

The one big difference between this time and the last time her and Beca met, she wasn't able to kiss Beca. This time though, she is.

So knowing that, she does.

And she kisses her _hard_ and _desperate_.

When connecting her lips to Beca's, it feels like she is reborn again-as cheesy as that sounds. It is like the first kiss all over again but this time, with all the days spent waiting just to kiss her again, the kiss is only that much more magical.

Beca tastes the same; there isn't a unique flavor to her lips, they just taste like mint-which is delicious hands down. They're still soft as ever, _skilled_ as ever, and Chloe wonders if it's possible for Beca to get even better at kissing than she already was.

Chloe also planned on making the kiss a quick, 'glad to see you' kiss but _of course_ once Beca's lips were cemented to hers, there was no way in Hell she's pulling away anytime soon.

"Tongue! Oh my God I see _tongue_!" These mortified words from Aubrey breaks the kiss apart a lot faster than Beca and Chloe ever could. Beca's lips curve upward against Chloe's and she know for certain Beca sees humor in scarring her best friend.

As Chloe retracts her lips after placing a few more chaste pecks to savor the taste of Beca again, she pulls away to look at their audience and sees Stacie beaming a cheeky grin at the scene and Aubrey peeking through her fingers, afraid of what she might see next.

Professionalism comes as a must to Chloe and she actually thanks Aubrey for her mortified interruption after taking in the fact that she is still at school where her students and parents can visibly see.

And not wanting to uphold the image of a choir teacher for young middle schoolers who engages in very heavy makeout sessions with her girlfriend, she puts her needs off to the side and makes a mental note to resume them when Beca and her are in a more private location.

Chloe's still in a pretty foggy daze as she stares into Beca's eyes, still unable to wrap this around her head that Beca is actually _here_ , in Georgia, at an arm's reach and not just through her computer screen.

"What are you doing here?" She connects her fingers with Beca's and then remembers the amount of stress the devil herself caused before her concert tonight-and though it was all for a good cause, she still raises her hand to give Beca's arm a playful smack. "I was so mad at you over the phone! I wanted to _strangle_ you!"

Beca defends her arm with a smirk, laughing as she smoothly tugs Chloe's frame in closer to her's. "Trust me, I know. That was the first time I've ever heard you cuss. I thought you were going to chop my head off." She snorts, scrunching her nose. "Can't say it wasn't sexy though."

Chloe rolls her eyes, trying to keep her knees strong and sturdy but the way Beca's hand is hooked around her waist is sort of making that hard to do. "How did you find the school I work at, and the time of the concert...and just….. _everything_?"

Beca doesn't give a verbal answer back; she only nods her head over to the direction where a guilty looking blonde is leaning against Chloe's truck.

Pointing an accusing finger, "you did this?" Chloe's voice is stern though that face splitting smile on her face contradicts the attitude she is going for. "First the flowers and giving away our address and now you're giving away where I work? What's next, my social security number?"

Aubrey raises her hands and mouths an unbelievable sorry. "Beca called me and said she wanted to surprise you at your concert. Being a sucker for cheesy surprises and seeing my best friend happy, the three of us brainstormed a plan to make that happen."

"I bought two plane tickets for Stacie and I to come down early and see your class perform, knowing how hard you worked on it and Stacie was breathing down my neck with the chance to meet you finally," Beca adds while Stacie throws Chloe a wink and a thumbs up.

"Had the whole thing planned out since the beginning of October," Beca states proudly.

Pretty much Chloe is at a lost for words. Surprised doesn't even come close to how she felt when she saw that familiar face in the audience and knew right then and there this unexpected guest was Beca. But if she were to be able to speak, she'd tell her girlfriend and girlfriend's best friend how incredibly ecstatic she is that they're here.

"Speaking of introductions…" As Beca maneuvers herself to the side of Chloe, allowing Stacie to march right on up with an outstretched hand. "Chloe, this is Stacie. Stacie, this is Chloe."

Taking the offered hand, Chloe beams a pleased to meet you smile, shaking the hand eagerly.

During this little exchange, Chloe takes the time to get a real good look at Stacie now that she has the chance. Like the rumors and piles of pictures floating around on Instagram, the girl is practically a walking runway model. She's actually kind of jealous if she's being completely honest. Her self esteem is high; she knows that she ranks pretty darn high on the attraction scale.

But Stacie, _Jesus,_ does this girl have legs that run for days.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Stacie breaks Chloe out of her envy admiration by a chirp to her voice. "I've heard _lots_ about you." By the mischievous raises to her eyebrows with slanted eyes, Chloe can predict something not so appropriate is going to come spilling out of Stacie's mouth. So instead of asking for details, she settles on an even wider smile and telling Stacie it's nice to meet her as well.

"I'm assuming you have already meet Bree." Chloe retracts her hand back to her side but only to be clung like a magnet back into Beca's.

Stacie nods her head smiling; a smile so chipper yet so sneaky at the same time. She skips back over to where Aubrey is standing, disregarding the distance between them as she slides her hip bone right up next to Aubrey's.

 _Hmmm_.

"Yeah, you missed the steamy makeout session already," Beca jokes, soon earning a harsh swat to the stomach by Stacie when saying this.

 

Behind them, a shy voice clears their throat and when Chloe turns around to greet whoever it is, she is swarmed by at least ten of her students, holding onto blank papers and their own individual pens. She would've thought that most of her kids left already, seeing that it is already pretty late since the concert ended but clearly, she was wrong.

"Hi." Timmy, one of her sixth grade students shuffles back and forth on his feet, unable to tear his gaze from the ground.

Wondering why a student who is usually so chipper and bouncing off the walls during class, Chloe takes a look over to her right and sees the one person who could possibly be the reason for these kids timid behavior. She forgot that more than half her kids are quite the fan of her girlfriend's music.

Much like herself.

"Can I get your autograph?" Timmy's voice is almost a whisper, making it hard to understand what he just asked for. But as he lifts up his shaky hands holding the piece of paper and pen to Beca, Chloe can take a rough guess as to what he just asked.

This is only the second time Chloe has had the chance to watch Beca engage with her fans and seeing that it's a group of _her_ students asking for a signed piece of paper that will mean the world to them and they'll probably frame when they get home, it makes her heart swell so big she's scared it might burst.

Beca looks genuinely happy as she smiles to the group of kids, taking the pens and papers-which doesn't do any help whatsoever on Chloe's hurricane of emotions. Timmy bypasses his shyness and goes off on how he has downloaded every mix known to man that Beca has created. Another student of her's, Sarah, tells Beca that she wants to grow up and become a DJ just like her and Beca just look like a kid on Christmas hearing all these things.

And then there's Chloe, watching the scene and how Beca interacts with her students, treating them equal and not being stuck up about being famous like other celebrities might act. She knows Beca isn't a fan _per say_ to the youth but if she hadn't know any better, she'd think that Beca is actually a sucker for them.

When Beca finally gets through all the signings of each kid, one of the parents asks for a group picture, which she doesn't hesitate to say yes to. Lining up and ordering the kids to do the rock n' roll hand gesture with their tongues sticking out, the mom snaps the pic and tells them she got a good one. The kids say their goodbyes and thank yous before following their parents to their cars, starstruck and the happiest Chloe has ever seen them.

"What?" Beca asks, raising a suspicious eyebrow and curving a small smirk when she catches Chloe's non blinking stare and maniac looking grin.

"That was really sweet of you." This is on the calmer side of the options Chloe was flipping a coin between to answer. If she had a choice and her students weren't around, she'd go with the other option and kiss Beca until the sun comes up, overwhelmed by the emotions of witnessing Beca engage with her students.

"Nah, it's nothing. If anything I should be thanking them. Without those guys, I'd be nowhere in my career," Beca says smiling and when Chloe takes a look to where Aubrey and Stacie stand next to her truck, they're gushing about the situation also.

Not knowing how to respond and being very limited on what she can and cannot do, she hugs Beca so incredibly tight, hoping to send how she really feels through the contact.

"Come on lovebirds, I'd like to get some beauty sleep before our five hour flight tomorrow before a weekend of pure fucking craziness!" Stacie is already on her way to the backseat door when Chloe and Beca finally break away from the hug.

_Yeah okay, like you need anymore beauty._

In the truck, after making a quick stop at Dairy Queen where Beca offered to pay for everyone's ice cream (and who was Chloe to turn down some free ice cream?) they resume driving back to Chloe and Aubrey's house, chatting casually about Beca and Stacie's flight down to Atlanta. Beca's hand is resting in Chloe's, playing around with each finger while the other one steers and Chloe is content and probably the happiest she has ever been.

It isn't until the conversation starts to die out when Stacie, sitting in the backseat, along with Aubrey, slides over to the middle and reaches for the aux cord, pleading to play some music off her phone while they drive home.

With Chloe busy driving and Beca, permanent passenger DJ being way too caught up in talking her own conversations with Chloe while spooning the girl some of her blizzard, tosses the cord to the back for Stacie to cue some tunes. What the both of them didn't know was that Stacie would pick Pretty Ricky's "On The Hotline" and they'd be left to endure a full ride of this inside joke that was suppose to be a private conversations between the both of them.

Chloe can feel the tips of her ears start to burn-to which she knows Stacie is getting a pretty good laugh at from the backseat.

"What's going on?" Aubrey laughs-though clearly confused as to why Chloe is hiding her blush with her free hand and Beca's face is fire engine red as she does the same. Maybe she hasn't mentioned the slip up her and Beca ran into during a steamy phone call one night which earned them a surprise visit from Stacie barging in.

The wound is still fresh, and the embarrassment is still there. She can only imagine what mouthful Aubrey would give her after hearing this story. She'd never see the light of day with the amount of teasing Aubrey would pile on.

"Oh _nothing_ ," Stacie coos evilly, not moving from the middle seat back into her previous one and only moves to swing her arm up and around Aubrey's shoulders non accidentally. "This song is just my jam."

"What are you doing?" Aubrey asks, skeptical of the arm now around her upper half and is in no hurry to move anytime soon. Chloe takes a look in the rear view mirror when she hears this and smirks when she sees what's happening in the backseat.

"Just stretching," Stacie says simply and with a shrug. "Airplanes are just so uncomfortable and not going to lie, my back hurts," and then she adds for cover up.

Not looking too much into it but still tense as ever under Stacie's hold, Aubrey lets it go for now.

The song causally gets turned up through Chloe's truck and she feels her face getting hotter and hotter by the increase in volume. Even though the memory of Stacie walking in on Chloe and Beca's heated conversation that night isn't the most pleasant nor enjoyable, now that it is over, the thought of the situation brings out some embarrassed giggles.

Beca on the other hand, looks as if she wants to shrink away from the world, or quite possibly into Chloe's leathered seat as she shrivels up into a ball as small as she can possibly get, muting out Stacie's teasing (and surprisingly talented) voice that's singing the song from the backseat.

Chloe nudges Beca's shoulder, ignoring the taunting lyrics that seem to have a strong connection to that one night for them. When Beca lifts her head from being molded into her chest, Chloe cocks her head to the backseat for Beca to take a peek and sees the new seating arrangement of their two friends.

Lightened by the scene, Beca opens her mouth to probably reverse the teasing and give Stacie a piece of her own medicine until Chloe nudges Beca in the shoulder again, afraid that the outburst may cause the two of them to break up in the backseat. For now, she'll keep in under the covers but later, she is so going to steer some information out of Aubrey.

She counts on it.

* * *

_**Friday October 28, 10:40 PM** _

_C: Hi :)_

**B: Are you texting me in the shower? Haha**

_C: Nope! Just waiting for the water to warm up :)_

_C: I wanted to ask about Stacie and Aubrey. You saw them right?_

**B: Uh, yeah I saw them. You should've seen when they met for the first time.**

_C: Was it awkward? Was it cute? Did they cry?!_

**B: No tears haha but it was low key kind of cute**

**B: Aubrey was awkward at first, not really knowing how to go about the situation but Stacie, doing whatever the fuck she wants, broke her out of that comfort zone.**

**B: It was the happiest I've ever seen Aubrey. And I know that doesnt mean much because I haven't seen her a lot. But I could feel it, you know?**

_C: Awh man! I can't believe I missed it :( But I understand. Aubrey's aroma seems happier with Stacie here :)_

**B: Think they're going to hook up this week?**

_C: Why? Wanna make a bet? ;)_

**B: Fuck yeah.**

**B: I say that they'll get into each other's pants after Halloween. Maybe Wednesday.**

_C: Oh you're so on! I say Halloween night because they'll both be dressed up, both be looking hot and the sexual tension will be so tight I'd be able to cut it with my pinky nail :)_

**B: Deal.**

**B: Are you naked right now?**

_C: Maybe I am….maybe I'm not ;)_

_C: Wanna picture?_

**B: …**

**B: Yes!**

_C: Oh shoot! Battery level won't let me access my camera! Sorry baby. Just use your imagination. ;)_

_C: Water is warm! I'll be out soon! xo_

**B: Dammit Chloe!**

**B: That's only for Androids and you have an iPhone :-(**

* * *

_**Friday October 28, 11:02 PM** _

_C: Soooooo :)_

**Aubrey: Oh God.**

**A: What do you want?**

_C: Oh nothingggg :)_

**A: You see, your messages tell me otherwise.**

**A: So spill, ginger.**

_C: You and Stacie ehhh? ;)_

**A: What are you talking about?**

_C: Oh don't play dumb, Bree! You of all people should know I read you like a children's novel._

_C: And what I'm reading so far is that you have a total toner for Stacie! :)_

**A: Chloe, I've told you this before. Yes I cherish a woman's beauty, sometimes more than most. Stacie happens to have a lot of…..assets to appreciate, especially in person.**

**A: But nothing is going on between us. I don't swing that way, she probably has a line of people waiting to give their right arm to date her and I'm most certain she wouldn't even go for a girl like me.**

**A: IF…..that was the case here. And it's not.**

_C: You can't say you only like men, Bree. You haven't had your experimenting phase yet! That's what college was for but you were too busy with school work and the Bellas!_

_C: You're a late bloomer in the mixing pot for the ladies ;)_

**A: Oh my God.**

**A: Aren't you suppose to be with Beca? Maybe making out or something?**

_C: Oh don't worry, we will be doing that ;)_

_C: I just had to get ready for bed, duh. Wipe off all that make up from my face and shower. My hair was a bird's nest from that God awful wig._

**A: I know I already told you this but great job tonight. Your students did amazing.**

_C: Thanks, Bree! My number one fan and best friend :)_

_C: And since you're my best friend, you can tell me when you have a crush on my girlfriend's best friend!_

**A: I do not have a crush on Stacie.**

_C: Is she with you right now? ;)_

**A: HA HA.**

**A: No. She's in the guest room. I set up everything for her to make sure she is comfortable.**

_C: I bet she'd be more comfortable in your bed…_

**A: You're incorrigible. Do you ever stop?**

_C: Nope :)_

_C: I don't blame you for having a crush on Stacie. She's hot! And the girl basically looks like she was created in some gay girl's laboratory._

_C: A line I stole from Beca ;)_

**A: Yes, she's extremely attractive. But she would never like me. We are just friends.**

_C: Oh yes she would!_

_C: Did you not see her pull "the move" on you during the ride back home!? She totally used the aux cord to not only embarrass the Hell out of Beca and I but to also get closer to you. THEN, she totally moves her arm over your shoulders! Like you guys are on a date at the movies!_

**A: She was just stretching, like she said Chloe.**

_C: No she wasn't! Because if it was a stretch she'd move her arm off your shoulders and not keep it there for the rest of the ride home._

_C: Plus, you stiffened up like a board under her arm. I thought you might have an aneurysm by the time we got home lol_

**A: I don't know what you're talking about.**

_C: You're as dense and oblivious as a potato, Bree!_

**A: Did you just text me to insult me or?**

**A: I'm promising you, there's nothing going on between Stacie and I**

_C: Okay yeah, and I'm the Queen of England._

**A: Glad to see Beca's sarcasm is wearing off on you.**

_C: That won't be the only thing wearing off on me… If you know what I mean ;)_

**A: Ugh, unwanted image in my brain Chloe. Thanks a lot.**

**A: Go have your phone sex, I'm going to bed. This conversation is over.**

_C: LOW BLOW, BREE. Stacie told you?!_

_C: Plus, Beca's here now so a phone isn't necessary ;)_

**A: Yep, thanks for telling me by the way! I'm most certainly not hurt at all…**

**A: And GROSS.**

_C: Oh stop. I was going to tell you but it isn't the most fun story to tell. Getting caught with your hand down your pants isn't the classiest._

**A: Lol, I still can't believe it. I think it is hilarious if we are being honest.**

_C: Shut up! What's even funnier is your denial for your ragging toner for Stacie!_

**A: Again and for real this time, I'm going to bed. End of discussion.**

_C: I'll squeeze it out of you sooner than later! ;)_

_C: Night love! Xoxox_

**A: Night, Chlo**

Chloe shuts her phone off and heads to the sink to wipe away the steam from the mirror to get a good look at herself. She combs through her hair while blowing drying until at least damp and switches into the night clothes she brought into the bathroom for after she showered. Once her teeth are brushed, contacts are out and everything it set, she leaves the bathroom.

Back in her room after going through her usual bedtime ritual, Chloe sees that Beca is talking on the phone, one hand running through her hair like as she paces back and forth, giving off the vibe that she is talking about something that is making her uneasy. The brushing of hands through her hair was something that Chloe picked up on during their date.

Kind of like a nervous tick or something.

Besides the constant fidgeting as Beca is physically unable to stand still, she has made it possible to look about ten times more attractive than when Chloe first left to take a shower. Only wearing a beat up, baseball tee that reads " _whatever mom,_ " with a few pink stains dribbled across the chest area, along with a pair of athletic running shorts and a pair of strangely uncharacteristic fuzzy socks to conclude. It's not a shock that this get up does some _serious_ twisting to Chloe's stomach the longer she looks at such a sight.

Really, Beca's beauty level still comes as a mystery to her and probably always will.

Beca holds up a single finger to let her know the conversation is almost done and she takes a seat at the edge of her bed where Tank is snoozing to wonder what Beca could possibly be talking about that has her so tweaked out.

"Yeah...yeah no that's fine I guess." Beca chuckles but it comes out nervous and shaky and she is gnawing at her bottom lip while Chloe almost boils over in anticipation. "I mean, it's a pretty…. _big_ deal you know? Pretty fucking big." Halting her pacing, she falls stomach down right next to Chloe, hair waterfalling over her face, with her cell phone still pressed directly to her ear. "Yeah well...let me know when you have more information about the game."

 _Game?_ Chloe thinks to herself. What game is Beca talking about? And _who_ is she talking to about this so called "game?"

"Alright Cass, thanks for the heads up." The name brings a furrow to Chloe's brows as she has never heard the name mentioned before. There's only a giant question mark over this unknown caller's face besides the obvious information that she's a girl-which is something Chloe has to bite her tongue about. "Yeah no I'll do it…..November 4th right? Friday?"

Instead of dwelling on the call, Chloe angles her body to lay horizontal to Beca's so she can rub soft circles over her back muscles and smiles proudly when it brings a flutter to Beca's eyes.

"Alright, sounds good. I'm going to let you go though. As you now Stacie and I are in Atlanta to pick up Chloe and Aubrey. We leave tomorrow afternoon so I'll give you a call before to talk about the game more," Beca about mumbles this mouthful into the speaker as Chloe's hands work wonders to sooth the muscles on her back.

"Who was that?" Chloe asks when Beca tosses her phone onto the nearby desk table and resumes back to her original position.

"Cassidy, my manager," Beca says simply, eyes closed under Chloe's touch so she misses the raise of eyebrows that come from Chloe next at this new information. "She's actually Stacie's cousin."

Chloe starts to relax at the mention of this Cassidy chick being a part of Stacie's family. Still though, there's the question of why she was in contact with Beca and what was the conversation that had Beca pulling out her hair from the scalp.

"You know how I mentioned that I should invest in a manger?" Chloe nods at this question, clearly aware and supportive of the idea. Beca's fame has only skyrocketed from making mixes on YouTube and the smart thing to do next was get someone to manage all the heavy stuff along with the job. "Well, Stacie mentioned to me that her cousin Cassidy manages her own business and would be a good candidate to interview for the position. She owns some pilates gym or something like that. Plus, she's basically family so I called her up for the position without interviewing anyone else."

Impressed and a little shocked at how Beca is moving up in the ranks of being a celebrity. It's still so surreal. "So you've got yourself your very own manager? That's pretty neat, babe." How impressed Chloe is shows through her voice and it brings out a lazy smile on Beca's mouth while her fingers continue to brush along her back. "What was she calling you about?"

"So this coming Friday, there's a big Laker's game going on and guess who was asked to sing the national anthem?"

Chloe's fingers freeze and her whole body lights up at the answer. Beca squints open an eye once the motions on her back are stalled.

"Oh my God! You're singing the national anthem?!" Chloe wastes no time before jumping onto Beca's back, continuing to squeal in excitement even with Beca groaning under her weight as she crushes her from above. "Beca!"

"I'm….not...going to be…..able….to….if you kill me first…" Beca grunts in between her strangled chuckles under the newly added weight and Chloe quickly hops off of her before she pops her girlfriend like a balloon. Huffing away some of the hair that fell over face and got into her mouth, Beca continues, "I hope you like basketball because there is _no_ _way_ I'm singing without you there."

"Good thing I enjoy watching basketball and _love_ to watch you sing," Chloe whispers, smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth as she leans in to ghost a kiss over Beca's lips. "No way am I missing this."

Something clicks in Chloe since the both of them are on the topic of Beca singing and she suddenly remembers about Beca's new single that dropped today. Not having much free time became she was focused on school, she completely spaced it out-which doesn't make her feel any better about the situation. Talk about the world's worst girlfriend.

"I haven't heard your single yet," Chloe admitted through a pout, feeling more worse than before now that she said it out loud.

"Don't worry. It hasn't came out yet." Beca gave Chloe a reassuring smile, lifting up her chin up to eye level. That's at least good news. Now Chloe doesn't feel like _such_ an asshole. "Atlantic is dropping it at midnight, California time. I guess the hype for the song is through the roof and Diplo thought it was a good idea to postpone it, teasing our fans a little bit before it's actually leaked. Kind of like Frank Ocean is doing with his new album that has _yet_ to drop," Beca finishes with a scowl and a roll to her eyes.

She gracefully stands up from Chloe's bed to mess around with her hair in the mirror placed on the back of the door. Chloe studies each movement, drunk on the way Beca's hair is still barely curled at the ends and a little disheveled from laying down on it but nonetheless still perfect. When she reaches up to tie her hair in a high ponytail, her baseball tee inching up with her arms, Chloe catches a glimpse of the two defined back dimples and a wave of needing to kiss Beca again washes over her in the matter of seconds.

And then she's hit with a forming crooked smile when she's caught staring and needless to say, everything after that becomes one big blur.

One moment Beca's standing up fixing her hair, the next she's underneath Chloe and participating in a very heavy make out with her hands clasping onto Chloe's ass to bring her closer while she's grinds into the kiss, needy and rough.

The thing Chloe really wants to is have sex with Beca. No sugar coating it. Just actual, full on _sex_ where she'd touch Beca and Beca would touch her and all around would be a night of pure bliss. All of October she has been working up the courage to finally be able to attack this want head on and finally, the idea doesn't bring nervous butterflies as much as it did before.

But now, it wouldn't feel right-though the way she and Beca are kissing right now would say otherwise.

She feels gross after being in that costume all night long, she's exhausted from the stress and nerves that targeted her throughout the entire day, making her pretty much brain dead. Beca probably has a minor case of jet lag and if she were to guess, she'd say that Beca's exhaustion is right behind her's.

When it comes down to having sex with Beca, she wants to perform and perform well enough to rock Beca's world, if she's being honest-which she one hundred percent is. Half assing something is _never_ okay in her book and she's not about to make an exception when her sudden arousal is pounding between her leg like a bass drum.

"For your birthday," Chloe breaks the kiss to mumble this across Beca lips-that also happen to be very swollen and very kissable. It physically pains Chloe not to be kissing her and also undresses her from any coherent words at the moment. So, she dangles what she said and is relieved when Beca understands exactly what she means without the words to explain and is frantically nodding her head up and down.

"Yeah?" Chloe tries her best to smile but is comes out lazy.

"Yeah," Beca answers back; a weird little telepathy thing going on since neither of them clarified what they were agreeing to.

Sex is postponed for the time being and Beca's is perfectly fine with waiting.

That doesn't mean Chloe's going to stop all intimate moments she has with Beca; not like she could make it longer than a a couple hours without kissing the girl since now Beca's under her roof now. What harm will do if she touches second base a few times to cope with her desires as she waits eagerly for next weekend to _come_?

The answer is none.

And with that, Chloe leans in to close the distance once again but is only stopped by a firm hand to the chest, preventing her from doing so.

Thinking Beca is going to tell her something sweet, sort of like she usually does, "can you put your retainer in?" Chloe is left with this. "It kinda turns me on."

And then she rolls her eyes and smacks Beca's shoulder again, unable to tell if Beca is joking or not with the laughs pouring out from her mouth.

But whatever.

She's just glad Beca is here right now.

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 7:34 AM** _

When Chloe flutters her eyes open the next morning, there's two very distinct things she notices. One of them being the added weight covering her entire left side of her body and feeling this already brings a megawatt smile to her face when she is greeted with whom it is. The second thing she notices comes from the same person but instead of the left side of her body being covered by another person's body heat, it's her chest that's being smothered.

More specifically her boob.

Sometime during the night, Beca's hands that seem to have a mind of their own worked their way up Chloe's baggy t-shirt and made no hesitation in taking a full palm to skin grope at whatever they found next during their journey.

And being their lucky night, she went to bed without wearing a bra.

Chloe can't help but smile at where Beca's hand is placed. It's most definitely _new_ , but doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. What's also new is spooning someone to sleep and waking up with that same exact person the very next morning. It's been forever since the other side of her bed has been occupied by someone other than Aubrey or Tank-which don't count in this scenario because for one, she didn't wake up with either of their hands up her shirt.

But waking up to Beca is something amazing to say the least.

Beca starts to stir in her sleep and Chloe thinks that her staring at the brunette for so long was the reason behind this. She quickly averts her eyes to looks at anything other than Beca to make her seem less creepy after staring at Beca for who knows how long.

"What time is it, baby?" she mumbles into Chloe's shirt where her face is molded into the material.

It's a whole different experience hearing Beca's morning voice up close and personal; it's husky and low enough that her words come out as a croak. There's an entirely deep, new sort of timbre to her voice that stirs up Chloe's insides in a way- which is probably why the next thing she does is hook her finger under Beca's chin and dives straight in for a passionate good morning smooch.

Immediately, Beca pulls away before they can really get into the kiss, muttering something about how she has morning breath and now that Chloe thinks about it, she still has in her retainer and she bets that anything she just gave Beca's mouth a full on salvia bath with this crappy piece of plastic covering her teeth.

Definitely not the most sexiest way to wake up and not the ideal good morning kisses you see on TV but Chloe couldn't help it. She has waited months to be in this current position with Beca, craved her kisses like going through a heroine withdrawal. She's addicted to them and it doesn't matter the place or time of day.

A kiss from Beca has worked its way up to Chloe's top priority for this upcoming week.

Reaching over to grab her phone that sits directly next to Beca's, she checks the time. It doesn't surprise her that she woke up somewhat early;she has always been considered the early bird of the family when the rest of her family sleeps until the afternoon. Sleeping in never really occurred until she met a night owl like Beca and found herself more times than not sleeping past ten on days she had off due to being up all night talking on the phone.

"Half past seven," she answers before placing her phone back on her night stand and the groan that comes as a response is almost immediate.

"What are we doing up so early?" Beca whines, shoving her face deeper into the crook of Chloe's neck. "We don't have to be at the airport until 2." Somewhere in Beca's moans and groans once her words started blending together, there's a plea to go back to sleep for at least the next few hours and Chloe finds it almost too adorable to handle this type of behavior so early in the day.

"Well sorry. There was and still _is_ a hand feeling me up and was enough to wake me up," Chloe states smugly, causing Beca to lift her face to lock eyes. Confusion strikes her first, completely unaware of where her left hand currently resides under Chloe's shirt. It isn't until Chloe casually flicks her eyes down towards the lump underneath her shirt when Beca's eyes almost shoot from her sockets and she has to bite the insides of her cheeks not to laugh at this dumbfounded look that hits Beca like a semi truck.

Abruptly, Beca yanks her hand out from under Chloe's shirt so fast, Chloe thinks she might've dislocated it. An overwhelming amount of apologies comes next as Beca babbles in complete nonsense and it only amuses Chloe to see her girlfriend at such a fluttered state.

Getting a good morning grope wasn't something that Chloe didn't enjoy. Not one bit. Yeah, maybe it was different than her usual wake up routine but different in the good way. Really, she should've known better knowing Beca's obvious love for boobs, her's especially.

Like Beca always says; she's a _boobman_.

"Don't apologize for getting… _handsy_ ," Chloe drags a hand through Beca's hair (her ridiculously soft and luscious hair for it being morning while her's probably looks like a tornado just struck it) and bats her eyelashes in a way that she knows her eyes are giving off a sparkle. "As my girlfriend, I expect you to at least cop a feel every once in awhile."

Beca eases a bit, her body language not so tense anymore. Her lips curve into a smirk before she is disobeying her previous pleas of no kissing until after they brush their teeth and softly connects her lips into Chloe's.

This sort of way to wake up is definitely something Chloe can get use to for the next several days.

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 11:30 AM** _

Waking up this time after unknowingly falling back asleep as she peacefully listened to the light snores exiting in and out from Beca, she wakes up to the absence of the once warm body heat that kept her nice and snug throughout the night. After scanning her room in search for Beca, she checks her phone next and sees that it's basically almost noon.

Chloe cranes herself up to sit, roaring a refreshing yawn and stretching out her stiff muscles after a good night's sleep. It's when her senses finally kick in and she is hit full blast with the aroma of coffee and bacon that tug her straight out of bed. Walking down the stairs, she peeks around the corner of the kitchen she sees Stacie and Beca wide awake cooking up a storm at the stove.

Taking in the sight at first; she's still kind of goes into shock every time Beca cooks, she leans her back against the doorframe unnoticed by the duo, also acquainted by the presence of Tank who lays directly in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"It's been forever, Becs," Stacie groans with her head falling to the ceiling while Beca flips the pieces of bacon on the frying pan. "I'm not saying it's possible, but I'm pretty sure I've grown my hymen back."

"Dude, gross!" Beca smacks Stacie in the stomach, grossed out by the unwanted anatomy of Stacie's body. Chloe snickers at the relationship, seeing a little bit of Aubrey and herself in the pair. She is always the one to speak without a filter, an open book one would say. Aubrey is more on the….conservative side, similar to Beca who fidgets at the word "sex."

"Why don't you get Aubrey to help you out?" Beca suggests, a hint of amusement lacing her words. "You're deprived of sex, Aubrey probably hasn't had a good sexual encounter in what looks like months."

Chloe shrugs silently, agreeing with Beca. As a normal best friend should, Chloe thinks it's time for Aubrey to let loose and have a good time after studying until her brain is mush. Encouraging Aubrey to go out and meet someone is what she does constantly.

And now that she low key knows there's at least _some_ sexual tension between her and Stacie, she'll only urge her more.

"Aubrey's pretty cute huh?" Stacie sighs, turning around so that her back is leaning against the stove. She's wearing a lazy smile, probably picturing the blonde in her head. "Whatever. Doesn't matter." For now, she tosses the thoughts aside and resumes back to cooking. "What matters is figuring out if Chloe's carpet matches the drapes."

"Dude!" Beca screeches again and Chloe can't help but giggle to herself. A flustered Beca will always be her favorite. "Can we not talk about that right now? I told you before and I'll tell you again, we are _waiting_."

"I know, I know, but I'm curious! My money's on that she isn't a natural redhead. There's no way!" Stacie declares positive. "She's hot as shit, _first of all,_ and second, have you seen her skin? Aren't gingers suppose to be like prone to paleness and sunburns? Chloe looks like a bronzed babe with blue eyes. How is that even possible?!"

Chloe hides her offence pretty well under her scoff as she hears this. She's damn straight a natural redhead, born and raised. And though she doesn't have _much_ _proof_ to back this up, there's enough for Beca to be able to tell. She just has to wait and find out herself.

Chloe knows that she probably should make her presence noticed. She is the first one to say eavesdropping is completely rude. But this (strangely odd) conversation is too good to miss.

And technically, is it really eavesdropping if the main topic of the morning chat is about herself? More specifically her _vagina_.

She doesn't think so.

"What are you doing?" Startled half to death by the surprise voice sneaking up over her shoulder, Chloe yelps, hitting her funny bone on the edge of the wall and is now the center of attention between Stacie and Beca.

Aubrey is muffling her laughs before Beca rushes to check and make sure she is okay.

Guess the snooping is done for now.

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 2:03 PM** _

After eating, packing and showering, they make it to the airport at the perfect time before they board for their flight to Los Angeles. Everyone but Beca settles on picking up a Starbucks and a few snacks to eat; Chloe finds something light just in case Beca does wind up getting hungry sometime between point A and point B, making sure whatever snack she bought wouldn't upset Beca's tummy too much.

She hated that Beca is so sensitive when it comes to motion. At least this time she'll be with her the whole way back to California, comforting her girlfriend like she always wants to do.

The five hours seem to fly by before they're landing at LAX. Beca spent the flight showing Chloe a few sneak peeks at the tracks for Diplo's album and also playing her new hit single "Closer" on repeat since it is now Chloe's new favorite jam. Not only is Beca doing majority of the vocals (her weakness) and the song has a catchy beat but also, Ed Sheeran is featured on the track. Add two of Chloe's favorite things on one song and _bam_ , it's her new current jam.

Even quite possibly her new _lady_ jam.

The flight also consisted of many, _many_ naps between all four of them. Stacie and Aubrey were a row in front of them but Chloe was able to see her friend casually resting under Stacie's arm as she slept.

_Just friends my ass._

As Chloe would watch a movie on Beca's laptop that she downloaded for the flight, Beca wouldn't hesitate to curl into her side and fall right to sleep once her eyes closed, hoping to avoid enduring another chick flick Chloe has picked out. It was relaxing though Chloe was dying to get Beca to watch another movie.

But holding Beca was even better.

Right when they land and start to exit the plane, Chloe notices sudden a profile change on Beca. She wearing her sunglasses now-even though they're inside- and has the hood up from her jacket that she pulled out of her carry on. At first, seeing this was bizarre and Chloe didn't understand why Beca is trying to camouflage herself as they walk through the terminals of LAX.

Then, it hits her all at once when she runs into one of those shops in the airport and sees her girlfriend's face plastered on the front cover of the very popular Billboard magazine.

Oh that's right, Beca is really _freaking_ famous.

Silly Chloe, how could she forget.

Chloe about loses the words to speak as she picks up one of this magazines and flips through the pages until she finds Beca's section. Inside is an interview, mostly asking about why Beca kept her voice undercover for so long (at least she wasn't the only one that wanted to know). Even in the interview it talks about her long distance relationship with Chloe.

" _I'm going to be honest, it's hard not waking up to her every day and after flying down to Georgia to meet Chloe for the very first time, it's gotten even harder. But I love her so much that I can't even imagine myself going a full hour without talking to her let alone months. We make our relationship work and that's all that matters."_

Chloe attempts to keep her swooning at a minimum but in reality, fails completely. Such a charmer her girlfriend is and how cool is it that she is being talked about in a magazine?! They even posted the Instagram picture of her and Beca at the Drive In. She has to call and tell her mom about this.

There's other stuff talked about in the interview regarding how long Beca has been creating music and where she found her start but Chloe is too focused on how incredibly _hot_ Beca looks, dressed almost casual, with a pair of black skinny jeans, a red and blue flannel and her hair curled perfectly.

The cover though is what puts Chloe almost into cardiac arrest.

Leave it to Beca to cup her crotch and pose with her best intimidation face to make Chloe want to drop her underwear.

"She's looks hot huh?" Stacie must've seen the damage done by the cover on Chloe's posture as she comments from afar.

Hot? For sure.

But also yummy, sexy, delicious, I want to devour your face, are equally satisfying words to sum up Beca's photo shoot.

"Don't worry, I got your copy at home," Beca says with a smirk, reaching out to grab the magazine from Chloe's hands to place back on the stand. She replaces the item with her hand as she leads the group down to baggage claim to retrieve their bags.

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 4:20 PM** _

Los Angeles is something _magical_ Chloe has decided.

That is except for the bumper to bumper traffic they've been sitting in for at least twenty minutes, not even close to Beca and Stacie's apartment.

Atlanta has traffic. It's nothing new to her. But it usually depended on the time of day when the highway would start to fill up with more and more cars.

This though is absolute awful and something Chloe could easily pass on.

But other than the traffic, California is beautiful. Everything about it actually; the perfect weather, the buildings, the trees, the grass. Hell, even the people here are all gorgeous, with their golden, sun kissed skin and God given hair. She feels like she is in a dream sometimes and has to pinch herself to make sure this whole new world in real life.

Beca points out Atlantic from the highway as they drive by while her hand is messing around with Chloe's thumb ring as theirs hands rest on top of the middle console. It's a habit Beca does when they hold hands, something that Chloe just can't seem to get enough of.

Atlantic is huge.

LA is huge.

And overall, it's definitely living up to both her's and Aubrey's expectations as they admire every little detail out the window of Beca's car (which by the way, is a brand new, all white Range Rover that only adds a cherry to the top of how famous Beca actually is and how she is dating a real life celebrity. Is it even humanly possible for Beca to get any hotter?)

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 4:53 PM** _

"Oh my _goodness_!" Chloe squeals when Beca enters her apartment and heads up to her room to bring down a newly added fur ball in the palm of her hands. She reaches to hold the kitten, cooing a series of gushy baby noises as the kitten mewls in her hands.

"This it Buttercup," Beca introduces with a warm smile and Chloe squeals again, still not over how Beca named her kitten after the nickname she gave her the very first night they talked online.

Beca Mitchell, a hopeless romantic.

After taking in all the cuteness Buttercup is, also sharing with Aubrey who pleads to hold her too, Chloe sets the kitten down and takes a good look at Beca's apartment. It's a nice pad-which isn't really surprising since this is an LA apartment and everything it seems like in LA is super nice. But even though it's one of the more fancier apartments Chloe has been in, there's still that comfy aroma that she feels at her own home.

Not too big, not too small.

It's just right.

Once the apartment tour is done from the downstairs, Stacie takes Aubrey to show her the pool, claiming that she has the best spot to lay out and tan. As for Chloe, she searches for the little kitten who has been at her ankles since the time she has enter Beca's apartment and reaches down to pick her up.

"Okay babe. Wanna grab my suitcase? I have some very important bonding time with this little one," Chloe gushes in an almost embarrassing baby voice, rubbing her nose back and forth into the kitten's cheek. Before Beca can respond, she bolts it up the stairs to find Beca's room, laughing the entire way.

"Um, rude! You're suppose to be bonding with me!" Chloe can hear this being yelled from where she's at on the staircase and also a few chuckles from Beca.

"I'm _waiitttinggg_ ," Chloe taunts, half wanting Beca to get up here to show her around and half not really knowing where she is going.

Soon though, with a suitcase in her hand and a dirty smirk on her face, Beca stomps up the stairs to follow.

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 5:30 PM** _

"What time does the festival start again?" Chloe asks, picking up a chocolate covered milk dud and sticking it in her mouth before doing the same for Beca.

They've been hanging out in Beca's room, listening to music off of her speakers for what meant to be a little rest but ended up turning into a plethora of junk food to snack on as they regain all their energy back.

God knows they need it for the night they have in store for them.

Beca smacks her lips after snatching the chocolate from Chloe's fingers. "Eight," she mumbles in between chews. "We should probably leave here around six thirty. I have to make sure everything is setup for my performance."

Chloe snaps up from where she is laying across Beca stomach, wide eyes and mouth hanging to the floor. "Did you say _your_ performance?" Beca only answers with a sheepish smile and Chloe almost screams at the top of her lungs at the news. "Beca! You're performing tonight?!"

"I mean, kinda?" Beca answers unsure. "I'm going on with Diplo so it's kinda a "shared set.""

Chloe raises her hands up to shake them aimlessly in the air, having too much excitement streaming her body to form actual words. "Oh my God! Oh my _God_! Why didn't you tell me?! This is awesome!" She smacks Beca in the arm. It seems like it's news after news that casually keeps appearing and she doesn't know how much more she can take.

"I'm full of surprises, Beale," Beca answers back with a smirk. "Which reminds me…" She gets up from her bed and heads over to where her mixing equipment is laid out and grabs something off her desk. Walking back to the bed with the unknown surprise placed in her hand, she hands it over to Chloe.

It's a blown up, probably triple the size poster of Beca's front cover picture for Billboard and a personal copy of the magazine underneath. Written in black sharpie behind the photo,

_Please replace that fucking awful poster picture of Justin Bieber with me? I love you baby :-)_

Chloe laughs reading this, leveling the paper to see Beca's wry smile. "Awe babe. I think you two would look _auhmazing_ side by side to each other."

"Absolutely not," Beca snorts with a sharp eye roll, repositioning herself back on the bed while Chloe puts the pictures next to her suitcase so they don't get bent. As soon as she gets home, Bieber is going in the trash because Beca's cover is something to gawk at every night before bed.

Can she possibly make copies of these?

"Now come here," Beca instructs sternly, slapping a hand to the area where Chloe once was. Can't say the demanding voice didn't' give Chloe a heavy jab to the gut. "I wanna make out before the festival."

And Chloe doesn't really need to be told twice before she basically teleports into Beca's arms, crashing their lips together in almost a hungry manner.

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 7:02 PM** _

If Chloe meets one more famous person tonight, she thinks she might seriously die from shock.

Actually, she doesn't really know what will happen to her but what she does know is that it won't be pretty. Maybe preparation in the day of fame now that she's with Beca should've been done before hand and _of course_ she knew that there would be a list of celebrities involved in tonight's agenda left and right.

But _wow_.

Never in a million years would've thought that she'd be face to face with the one and only Selena Gomez.

And God, she's even prettier in person.

"Chloe!" Selena beams as her and Beca walk up hand in hand backstage where majority of the artists are at. Chloe almost has a heart attack because even though she has met pretty much all of Atlantic and Beca's producing team, including Diplo, ( _oh my God)_ Skrillex, (Oh my _**God**_ ) and even David Guetta, ( _ **OH MY GOD**_ ) she can't get over the fact that Selena _**freaking**_ Gomez knows her name.

Knows her _actual_ existence.

Holy guacamole, she might just faint right here right now.

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" Selena reaches out for an eager shake;Chloe kind of wishes she didn't because she knows her hand is sweating up a storm. It doesn't seem to bother Selena though because next thing is, she is being swept into a hug that literally takes her breath away.

"You snagged yourself a gem, shorty. She's absolutely stunning!" Chloe snorts when she's released from Selena's hold.

_Same could definitely be said about you. And did she really just compliment me?!_

"I know," Beca agrees with a smile, moving in shifty to place a kiss over Chloe's check that instantly starts to burn. "This is her best friend Aubrey and you already know Stacie."

"Nice to meet you as well." Selena smiles, mirroring the gesture over to Aubrey this time and it makes Chloe feel a little better to see Aubrey in a similar starstruck phase.

A tall women who Chloe is unfamiliar comes up behind Beca next and hugs her around her neck. Chloe takes it that this girl is Cassidy, judging by the height and facial structures that make her look almost photoshopped. If those weren't a dead giveaway that she has to be related to Stacie, it was for sure the miles of legs the girl is supporting.

"Glad you made it back safely." Cassidy whips Beca around to hug her from the front until she catches Stacie standing next to Aubrey and charges in for a hug from her next.

"Hey cuz!"

Stacie returns the hug, squealing around like haven't seen each other in ages. When they break apart and fall under the typical "how are you?"and, "how was Georgia and the flight back?" Chloe gets a good look at the two side by side. Cassidy is basically a taller, (if possible) slightly looking older version of Stacie but still carries the model given genes and the goddess body structure.

 _Jesus_ , Chloe can only imagine what the rest of their family tree looks like.

"Cass, this is Aubrey and Chloe. Beca's girlfriend and Beca's girlfriend's best friend," Stacie introduces and Cassidy immediately sweeps in for a hug from the both of them.

"I'm Stacie's cousin," Cassidy classifies with a wide grin. _Oh really? Couldn't tell by the insanely good features you're sporting._ "I'm also Beca's manager."

"My manager who has _a lot_ to tell me about this upcoming game I might add," Beca says in her best authoritative voice.

"Yo shorty!" Diplo's voice is heard from afar and soon, he's jogging in and throwing his arms up and around Beca's shoulders that are framed wonderfully by his bro tank he is wearing. For being almost forty, this guy sure is an attractive hunk. "You ready for tonight? Lines on top of lines are already forming outside before doors open."

Beca sends a sheepish smile, along with a shrug. She looks she tiny compared to him. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Everything is going fine as Diplo and Beca go over a few last minute arrangements for their set while Cassidy takes Stacie and Aubrey to look around backstage. Suddenly though, the area and everyone around seems to freeze before Beca's eyes stretch so wide Chloe thinks they might tear.

Diplo catches it too before he's morphing to mirror the expression.

" _Hootie Hoo!_ " Beca then hollers this through a cupped hand and weirdly, it catches Selena's attention instantly from where she is getting ready backstage. Chloe sees the look of panic wash over her face and then, Selena is politely excusing herself to wherever she plans on going.

_What the Hell is going on?_

"Um, explain." Chloe giggles as her suspicion only grows larger. There has to be a reason to why Selena just bolted out of the room like the plague was spreading.

"A little warning call we made up when her ex makes his grand appearance," Beca informs nonchalantly and Diplo nods his head. "They're civil towards each other but God, no one ever wants to talk to their ex, especially on bad terms let's be real."

Chloe zones out almost everything after Beca mentions Selena's ex and her jaw nearly hits the floor when only one person comes to mind. "Justin Bieber is here?!" Chloe exclaims loudly, half joking, half being serious. She scans the area, twisting her head back and forth to find him talking to a group of artists amongst themselves. "Can we go meet him?!" She was not informed that Justin Bieber would be here.

Beca, with her dead panned face, not even a twitch or blink to break through her stone hard facial expression, turns her back to walk away, leaving Chloe to bark out a series of laughter as she jogs to catch up.

* * *

_**Saturday October 29, 8:40 PM** _

Beca wasn't lying when she told Chloe that this place is too amazing to describe and you'd have to experience it in person to get the real gist.

The place almost seems fake, like an illusion or something.

For tonight, (since apparently each day has a different theme) everyone is decked out in white, making each and every person glow in the crowd under all the black lights surround the stage. Chloe's outfit, as well as Beca's, isn't anything complicated. A white tank top and high waisted shorts with a neon bandana tied around her head after Stacie declared they'd each wear one. Beca wears the same but instead of shorts, she has on white skinny jeans and black, high top Nikes with her hair straightened flawlessly.

Beca had to keep it comfortable and wear something that is easy to move around in since she's performing tonight-which still is something Chloe can't get over. And not that she is complaining because Beca looks hot;she always does.

That's nothing new.

Aubrey and Stacie went out to the store before hand and got glow in the dark paint to order hand prints all over eachother, making their get up that much better.

It's only the beginning of the concert and already, Chloe's pretty much in heaven, after receiving a backpack full of glow sticks to join the fun-thanks to her girlfriend who remembered about her glow sticking obsession from previous conversations. She shows Beca and Stacie and a lot of other friends she's made so far in the crowd all her skills, not that surprised when they're all impressed.

Not to brag or anything.

"Okay my little raver. That was pretty sick," Beca compliments and only Chloe responds with an "I told you so" before they're dancing along to the beat of the music.

The energy is different here. Almost every person she meets is about as friendly as she is and there is a vibe here that she just can't seem to pinpoint. Either way though, the venue and concert is truly too good for words.

And she's not just saying that because there are hundreds of blow up beach balls floating back and forth through the crowd though that is a pretty big reason.

She snaps her pictures, taking even more with Beca just to remember this feeling. And actually, she's been taking pictures all day since she landed in California. Tonight though is just something too magical to forget.

"Alright, I'm almost up," Beca yells in Chloe's ear, trying to get her voice above the pulsing music playing on stage. Where they are at on the VIP section made it impossible to hear anything but bass. If Chloe wasn't deaf before, she sure as Hell is now.

Knowing her girlfriend, Chloe can see Beca trying to control her nerves enough to not make them noticeable, hiding them by wringing out her fingers awkwardly and avoiding eye contact. But under and familiar with these signs, she can tell Beca is picking at her skin with how nervous she is.

This is a big deal-correction, _huge_ deal. It's Beca's very first performance _live_ and in front of thousands of people instead of just through a computer screen. That's a big enough reason to be nervous.

"Good luck, baby!" Chloe wraps her arms around Beca's neck and leans down to give her a few kisses to ease Beca's nerves. Her body is going off of pure ecstasy and she doesn't know whether it is because David Guetta is currently on stage, or Beca is about to perform.

Probably both.

After receiving a shaky smile from Beca, she watches her weave in and out through the crowd and up to the stage where Diplo is waiting. More pictures are taken while she waits with Stacie and Aubrey, who have happened to arrange a position where Aubrey is sitting on top of Stacie's shoulders, her thighs pressed loose against either side of Stacie's cheeks.

How the girl had the strength to do that, Chloe will never know.

They dance too and she's happy this concert is outside where it's at least a little bit cooler and not so humid. Chloe's having the time of her life but in all honesty, she's already missing her dancing partner, who surprisingly happens to be a very, _very_ good dancer.

Or at least that's what Chloe can pick up from the way Beca expertly moves her hips.

There's an applause, there's an intermission, there's a water break, there's an introduction for the next performing DJs and then all of a sudden, there's Beca on stage, standing behind a gigantic turntable that runs long enough for both her and Diplo to not be scrunched together. There's fancy headphones wrapped around her neck, along with an added snapback (oh dear God) and she starts messing around with the nobs and dials on the tables before a booming bass starts pumping through the speakers.

There's strobe lights and colored lights flashing in every direction that it's almost overwhelming. Diplo and Beca are amping the crowd, jumping and waving their hands up in the air. You know, typical DJ movements.

Then, Beca's singing and the people around Chloe are either singing the lyrics with her or chanting her name, and Beca looks so in her element, and so insanely happy that it brings tears to Chloe's eyes (God, why is she always so emotional?)

She shakes out the happy tears to focus on Beca and how well she is performing on stage. She dances with Aubrey and Stacie, or anyone who would dance with her as she sings so loud she's positive her voice would be gone by the end of tonight.

Chloe is high on life and this is the closest thing to paradise she can get.

California is something else.

_So baby pull me closer in the back seat of your Rover_

_That I know you can't afford, bite that tattoo on your shoulder_

_Pull the sheets right off the corner, of the mattress that you stole_

_From your roommate back in Boulder, we ain't ever getting older_


	16. New Presents: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a decision has been made and I've decided to split this specific chapter into two parts. Why I did this is because I want to make sure to touch up on everything during Chloe's vacation in LA. Doing that and not even being close to finished, there's was already a lot words. So, I split this chapter and sometime either tomorrow night or the next day, I'll post the second part. (Depending on how bad my Chemistry class is kicking my ass)  
> Ninety percent is already written so updating won't take as long as this chapter (sorry)  
> Thank you guys for reading and all your kind words. Again, you make my world go round :)
> 
> Warnings this chapter & next: Minimal drug use and smut. But those are the best things, right? ;)  
> Also, POV starts with Beca's and changes after the concert to Chloe's.
> 
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT)

_**Saturday October 29, 8:56 PM** _

Terrified.

Beca is fucking _terrified_ to perform tonight.

It was one thing showing her voice to the world; she was use to being the ghost behind the beats and keeping that talent locked deep inside with only a handful of people closest to her that were lucky enough to be able to listen. But now, showing her voice to thousands of people who paid money to see her sing live….

Let's just say it is a little unsettling, or in other words, the nerves are there and they're here making a statement as Beca's palms sweat and her stomach rumbles in fear.

She's not scared that she won't perform well.

Hell, it's obvious that she is a pretty damn good singer; she knows it and everyone with a set of ears knows it too. The thing that is really scary is that out of this entire crowd, the one person she wants to perform the best for isn't able to be here tonight.

She fumbles around her in pockets to find her phone before clicking straight into her saved a shaky grip, she lifts the up to her ear before that sweet angelic voice rings through the speaker.

" _Hey bug. Calling to let you know I just listened to your latest mix on YouTube and I gotta say kid, if a record company doesn't sign to soon, I'm going to quit my job and fly down to LA and knock some sense into their heads. What you can do is what others dream of doing and I can't put into words how incredibly proud I am of you. I know now it doesn't seem like you are making it far when it comes to views and I'm the only one giving your songs attention, but the attention will come, I promise you. I love you to the moon and back bug and I can't tell you enough how very proud I am of you."_

End of message.

Tears are instant when hearing her mother's voice. Beca tries her best not to make them visible, taking that she is backstage with groups and groups of crew members, along with other artists running around and she would hate to get thrown under all the questions regarding if she is okay.

Truth is though, she's more than okay.

She's a lot better than how she was a couple minutes ago and it might not make sense now because she is crying but she knows it's good to let it out.

That's why she's kept so many of her mother's voicemails from before she passed-this one just being Beca's favorite. When things get rough, or simply she needs to hear her mother's voice again, she'll play them

She's gone years going through majority of the stages for the grieving process; denial, anger, bargaining, and depression. Maybe this is the final stage, her being seconds away from performing live that's been her dream since she first started creating music. Acceptance that even though her mom isn't her to live this dream with her doesn't mean she should hold back. If anything, she has Chloe now, even Stacie, Aubrey and Hell, her dad is now back in the picture.

She's living a dream she has had since even before she started mixing music. Growing up watching music videos late at night, friends sneaking her around to clubs and even managed to place a fake ID in her hand at one point. How'd they do it, she'll never know nor does she really want to.

Looking up to the sky where the pink from the clouds mix with the orange, "I miss you so much mom," Beca's whisper comes out as a weak croak from crying but feels like she is speaking through a microphone.

She wipes her cheeks to get rid of the streaks of tears and tries to unpuff her eyes so she doesn't go on stage looking like she had an allergic reaction to something. Diplo jogs up next to Beca and gives her a comforting pat on her shoulder.

Her situation with her mom was something he had discovered one day in the studio when Beca was thinking of songs to write about. He is like an older brother to her in the way, so she felt comfortable letting her emotions lay on the table.

And that's not because he was old.

Not being a fan of sympathy as she feels like it's a sign of weakness, his was appreciated at the time and much needed.

"You ready?" Diplo asks when Beca twists her head to give him a weak smile. He's holding Beca's personal pair of headphones that hook on his index finger and taking the piece, Beca nods her head while wrapping them around the back of her neck, just under her hair.

Regardless, things aren't perfect like they feel like they should and she thinks that it never will be. Not without her mom being by her side but Beca knows that if she was here today, her mother would be proud.

And that's all she could ever ask for.

_**Saturday October 29, 9:43 PM** _

Here's how the rest of the night goes: Beca finishes her set aside with Diplo _-flawlessly_ , she might add. Even Selena got on stage with them for a surprise appearance to perform "Tomorrow Never Comes" which had the crowd going absolutely berserk. They were singing along, jumping up and down to the beat and clapping their hands whenever Beca signaled them too.

She even received a few bikini tops of all fluorescent colors that were thrown from somewhere in the crowd-which Beca can bet Chloe isn't the most pleased about. Reminder to apologize to her later.

But anyway, it was _insane_.

Words can't describe how Beca felt performing. Having so much control or the shape of the audience in the palm of her hands. She felt like a puppeteer controlling everyone by little threads of strings tied around her fingers. The energy from the crowd, the jolting ecstasy streaming through her veins and the euphoria of singing live in front of an audience basically ran her on autopilot.

It was a feeling she will still feel tomorrow, the next day and probably even the rest of the week. She almost can't believe there is three nights of this concert and truth is, she'll most likely than not be dead by the end of it.

Taking a minute to herself, she takes another glance up to the sky that has now transformed into clear dark skies. She thinks it's ironic that the California skies have not a cloud in sight since the past few day have been either really gloomy with rain or covered every inch of blue sky there was. Not really being religious but hoping one day she'd be able to see her mom again, it sort of feels like a sign. As if her mom is watching down on her without anything to block her view.

She smiles at the thought and returns her focus to the crowd while Diplo throws his arm around her shoulders to embrace the energy as a pair.

Before actually melting into the audience from the amount of cheers going around because she was ecstatically paralyzed with happiness, Beca zooms off the stage after a few quick waves, ignoring most of the cameras and attention backstage until she finally makes it back into the VIP section where Stacie, Aubrey and Chloe are standing.

She attacks Stacie with a violent bear hug that soon lifts her off the ground as Stacie spins her around, squealing about how well she performed tonight. After complaining about being tossed around like a rag doll, Stacie drops her and gives her a more gentle hug.

Next is Aubrey, who surprisingly and takes Beca's breath away by the out of the blue action as she hooks her arm around Beca's shoulders and brings her in for a less aggressive hug compared to Stacie's first. It's not as smooth and slightly more awkward, but nonetheless does it not warm Beca's insides at the effort. At least she is trying and it means a lot.

"You were great up there, midget," Aubrey says after retracting her arm back and a smirk instantly curves up at the nickname. It's not the most reassuring name to be called since height jokes are never okay with Beca, but knowing it's coming from Aubrey makes it special.

"Just trying to give my all up there for you _Mitchie_ fans," Beca battles back with her own mirrored smirk and Aubrey rolls her eyes before her attention is once again glued to the stage where the next DJ is setting up.

Lastly is Chloe who is standing beside all the action, waiting patiently until everyone has had their turn with the celeb herself. On instinct and as a reflex when seeing her proud, megawatt smile that lights up the entire concert's venue, Beca doesn't waste a second before her lips are crashing onto Chloe's in a hungry, passionate kiss.

Overall, it's kind of gross and not the most appealing when their lips meet because for some reason, Beca has managed to start crying once she saw Chloe, along with the hurricane of adrenaline pumping through her veins. And Chloe of course starts to cry once she feels Beca crying so really, it was one big salty mess that still somehow lit off fireworks behind Beca's eyelids.

She pours everything into the kiss; the emotions regarding her mother, the post performance jitters and all the love she has for this girl it's almost scary how much there really is. The concert continues and both of them don't even flinch when the bass shakes the ground they are standing above-being too caught up in the kiss and holding onto any piece of skin they can find.

"I'm so proud of you," Chloe whispers when she takes a much needed breath away from the kiss, their lips though still basically touching. "She would be so proud of you." Beca is actually surprised she heard this with the now Zedd performing on stage and the bass from the music shaking the stage as the crowd around them jumps to the beat.

But then again she's not because whenever she's with Chloe, it feels like it's only them two in the room. It doesn't matter if it's twenty people around them or damn near millions. Chloe is the only thing important and hearing this from her only breaks down Beca even farther.

"I love you," Beca yells this and she can take a guess that her voice wasn't heard much with the music swallowing up anything that comes out of her mouth. Chloe still beams a smile; Beca then guesses she read her lips.

"I love you too my rockstar."

And after a few more kisses to soak up each other's presence, they continue to dance the night away and Beca can honestly say this is the best night of her life.

* * *

_**Sunday October 30, 6:45 AM** _

Chloe wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing next to her head that's practically vibrating through Beca's table. Obviously, she forgot to plug it up and turn the ringer off for a much needed morning to sleep in after the night she had. Rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, she takes in the lack of light and can observe that it must still be pretty early. She also takes in the level of comfort blanketing her body as Beca's arms are securely wrapped around her shoulders, smothering her face in the crevice of Beca's neck and chest.

As weird as it probably sounds when taking in the fact that Beca is noticeably smaller than Chloe but right now, as her arm is draped over Beca's stomach and she's cuddled into every inch of skin there is possible, she feels the smallest she's ever felt before.

And that's including the ex boyfriends that fell in the category of being extremely built and over the height of six foot.

But with Beca, it's strange. She feels about as tiny as an ant being held and it makes it kinda hard to want to move, or break away from this amount of comfort without missing her touch.

Beca also smells heavenly, which is another factor to the equation of Chloe not wanting to get up from the bed. Something like a buttery, vanilla from her body wash (or maybe even a coconut scent) but all around intoxicating as she inhales where her nose is pressed against Beca's neck.

Beca mumbles something incoherent at the noise from the phone; Chloe guesses it's along the line to turn it off before breaks it in half and it makes her chuckle at how grumpy her girlfriend always is in the morning. Leaning over, she catches her mom's name light up on her screen and curses when she has to detangle from all of Beca's limbs, remove herself from the warmth and sneak away quietly into the bathroom to answer the call.

Another whine of some sort comes out from Beca at the loss of contact and is almost cute enough for Chloe to swipe ignore and hurry to rush back into bed, but knowing her mother (any mom that is) doing that probably wouldn't be the best option. Especially since it's been awhile since she has spoken to her and probably has loads of questions to answer from her family. So, taking one last glance of her sleeping girlfriend who has now taken the pillow she was sleeping on to replace Chloe's frame, she smiles and heads to a more private place to talk.

"Hello?" Chloe whispers at first; she answered the phone before the bathroom door was closed and she didn't want to chance waking up Beca. Once she's fully secure in the bathroom, she flips the lid to the toilet seat down and takes a seat.

" **Chloe dear, how are you?"** Her mom's voice chirps through the phone with so much enthusiasm it makes Chloe groan into the palm of her hand. Clearly unaware of how insanely early it is here compared to down in Florida, her mom isn't making it any easier to wake up.

She's a morning person, don't get her wrong. But not when she has had a total of four hours of sleep after dancing until her feet stopped working the previous night.

Yawning into the back of her hand, "I'm good, mom. Pretty exhausted though." After having to clear her throat from the post sleep croak, Chloe mumbles into the phone.

" **How is California treating you guys?"**

"Well, besides it being six in the morning," Chloe retorts sarcastically, hinting a little bit of Beca's personality that she picked up. "It's amazing here. So much better in person and travel pictures online."

" **That's nice. California is something else and I'm so jealous you get to experience it yet so happy for you. How's Beca?"**

Unintentionally and not being able to control it, Chloe's mouth automatically curves upward and she begins to feel the swarm of butterflies release in the pit of her stomach at the mention of Beca. "She's really good. Last night was her first time performing live and though it wasn't for long because the album is still being worked on, she did amazing. I was a little nervous with the issue with her mom and could tell it was affecting her but her performance was truly amazing."

Briefly through past conversations, Chloe had stumbled upon the topic of Beca's situation with her mom with her own. So this isn't anything new to her.

" **Well tell her congrats for me! I can only imagine how hard it was to perform. She's a tough cookie though."** Chloe can almost hear her mother's beaming grin and sincerity in her voice, thus making her own smile that much larger. " **Speaking of Beca, she's all magazines and social media can talk about. Plus, your name is also getting thrown around here and there. Basically, you guys are Hollywood's "it" couple."**

This isn't news to Chloe, obviously since she's been receiving a fair share of Beca's fan base and has been gaining followers by the second. And also with the Billboard magazine and the piece Beca talked about, their relationship has been put on the pedestal for everyone to see.

Being talked about quite frequently amongst fans and people she doesn't know on a personal level was weird at first, Chloe can admit. Still even today, it's hard to go places without running into someone that wants to get a picture, or talks endlessly about Beca's music. She even contemplated deleting her Instagram and Twitter before making a completely new one just so she'd be able to have her privacy back.

For Christ sakes, she's an in dept grad student, living in Atlanta Georgia who is about to become a middle school music teacher, not a big time celebrity that's making money just taking a breath of fresh air. Never in a million years would she of imagined herself signing autographs, taking pictures with random fans or _Jesus_ , seeing her face on one of the most popular magazines in America.

But she knows Beca's status in the world and what she signed up for when she first said yes into dating a big time music producer. The little things like paparazzi and candid pictures and fans non stop are all something Chloe has to get use to.

And she'd do it in a heartbeat if it meant dating Beca for the rest of her life.

"Yeah it's kind of crazy here. I mean, LA is her nest and _all_ of her fans live down here, so the attention we get driving around, or even the concert last night was almost too surreal."

" **I'm sure you've already seen the pictures floating around of you two at this concert? I was never into the media until I heard from my co workers that my own daughter is being talked about..."** Her mom continues to go on about whatever it is she is talking about while Chloe takes the chance to look up these so called pictures of her and Beca.

After putting her mom on speaker phone to at least sort of listen to what she is saying, she checks Twitter first; that being the ideal option of where new gossip gets posted first. Being right, mentions and replies from all her followers have tagged her in MTV's latest tweets that happen to be pictures of the entire concert last night and everyone performing.

Snapshots of Selena and Bieber are the most retweeted and popular but a simple picture of Beca and Chloe kissing after her set was the third most talked about amongst others. There's also photo stills of Beca and Diplo's performance that still even this morning has Chloe in awe but she focuses more on the picture of them kissing.

She's actually surprised that she didn't catch the cameras around her when they were taking this photo but then again, she was so wrapped up with Beca's overall performance and overfilled with emotions to focus on anything other than the DJ herself. It felt right to kiss Beca in that moment, perfect even.

" _Georgia's sweetheart and student teacher, Chloe Beale, takes a trip up to the big city, supporting rising music producer, Beca Mitchell, on her very first big set performance with a big smooch that has the entire world in awe. Long distance between two sure is hard but with these lovely, inspiring ladies, anything seems possible."_

How the media got her information about what her occupation is, Chloe will never know and truthfully, it's a little scary. She assumes that they got a deeper look into her Instagram and or Facebook to get all the information they needed.

"Oh wow," Chloe gasps, still in shock that it's _her_ name being talked about, next to big time celebrities that she spent majority of her teenage years gawking over.

" **She's ranking huge, Chlo. I can only imagine with her image and album coming out the amount of attention she'll get then."** Chloe scrunches her face hearing this. Was her mom trying to imply that because Beca is insanely good looking that she'll be given more "female" attention? If that's the case then Chloe is about to stop it before that even becomes a thing.

She's not clingy or the jealous type (that was until Beca came around and she feels queasy when even another girl looks in Beca's direction) and she knows a for a fact Beca would _never_ cheat on her. But she's predatorial and if it needs to be vocalized that Beca is in a relationship, Chloe will sure as Hell grab the nearest microphone and announce that without hesitation.

" **I hope her fame doesn't scare you away."**

"I'm _not_ going anywhere, mom." Chloe doesn't mean to get snappy and defensive towards her mom. It was a valid thing to say knowing that this new world is all very _new_ to Chloe and could be a little (a lot) overwhelming at first. Thinking she'd pack her bags and dip out, leaving Beca alone and probably heart broken is something that irritated her the most.

She's been in it from the start and will be in it with Beca till the end.

"I don't want to jinx it or whatever, especially since we've only been dating for two months, talking for three, but the feelings are there and they're strong, mom." Chloe admits, exhaling a heavy breath because everything regarding her feelings towards Beca finally caught up to her. "I love her so much it's scary. Actually, it's freaking terrifying how much I care about this girl."

Maybe her overflowing love for Beca is coming from their situation, and how they do have to experience time and space away from each other, more time needed for the both of them too. And maybe it's because when ever they do get the chance to see each other in person, all those feelings erupt like a volcano and basically triple in size compared to if they were to see one another every day.

Whatever it is, Chloe can't complain.

" **I know, that's why I don't want fame or the public to get in the way of your relationship. I haven't seen you since graduation but I can already tell what an impact Beca has made on you. Paul didn't even make you this happy and you claimed he was your soulmate."**

Chloe cringes, knowing how well that ship sailed. Paul was her first actual love, that's the truth. Maybe she was a little theatrical when she said he was her soulmate because clearly, that didn't work out but being with him has been the closest she's ever been to finding a soulmate. The break up wasn't bad, don't get her wrong. They just were in new different places at the same time. It only made sense to call it quits before one of them got hurt.

She loved Paul a lot.

He was her rock throughout high school and again, was her first real love. Before Paul, she didn't think it existed and was out searching for Prince Charming through gut wrenching dates and occasional late night hook ups with a "nice" guy she met at a party. But with him, he proved that there was such a thing as true love.

With Beca, it's like she's not even in love with the girl and that there should be a much _deeper_ and _bigger_ word to describe how she truly feels. Every little emotion, or feeling she has towards Beca are so intense that love doesn't even come close to explaining the butterflies she is flooded under.

She gets ahead of herself more times than not. Both hands raised, she is a true sap at heart and unrealistic, the least to say when it comes to dating. Though over the years, she's become more and more picky when it comes to dating and realized that chick flicks are one big fat lie when it comes to relationships in the real world.

With Beca though, it feels like she is living a fairytale. She didn't even think it was physically possible to love someone as much as she loves Beca but like a lot of other things in her life, Beca has proved her wrong. Beca does these little things that add to all this love, such as kiss her at red lights, just to spare the time and Beca's holds her hand every chance she gets whether Chloe is expecting it or not.

And she doesn't want to get a head start like she did with Paul but honest to God, Beca is her soulmate.

This isn't her young, teenage self that was wrapped around Noah and Allie's love life talking either. This is the mature, twenty seven year old, Chloe Beale talking and she is _certain_ that Beca is her soulmate, significant other, rock, life line and all other gushy labels that make up Beca's title.

She's more than positive.

" **When am I going to meet this lovely girl, Chloe?"** Her mom's voice reels her back from out of her thoughts and she can't help but notice the face splitting grin stretched across her face at the inner thoughts she had regarding Beca.

She is in way too deep with this girl.

"Hopefully soon. I know she wants to meet the fam but it's hard with her work schedule now with the album almost being done."

" **Your dad and I have been talking about going down to the beach house for a weekend before winter comes around, not that it means much in Tampa."** Chloe laughs along with her mother. While living in Tampa, it seemed like there was only one season and that season being summer. Of course, there was the occasional cold front with heavy rain showers but that'd only bring out the humidity, more than it already was. " **You're done with your classes for school?"**

"Yeah! I finished all my work before I left Atlanta. All I need to do is go over graduation stuff before December when I walk and I'm all set!"

" **You could invite Beca down to our beach house once we get a set weekend. I'd love to meet her. It's not the same hearing about it through the TV or on the radio. Maybe your brothers would be able to tag along as well."**

Chloe thinks for a while. Getting free time would be hard for sure but thanks to all her unused vacation days for work, it would be easy to find a weekend to take off. Even Thanksgiving while the kids are on break would be a breeze to go down to Florida for a mini vacation. It's Beca's schedule that would be hard clearing up but maybe with extra time in advance, her label would be more open to letting her leave for a few days.

Plus, Chloe doesn't want to waste the free opportunity to missed Beca wearing a bikini for an entire weekend, attempting to ride the jet skis her brothers bring out. Now that's a scene too good to miss.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. I'll talk to her about it when she wakes up-which by the way you happily interrupted for me, thank you very much." Chloe rolls her eyes but smiles anyway. Now that's she's been on the phone for a while, she's not as tired.

" **Oh shoot! I forgot about the time difference! I'm sorry, hun."**

"It's okay. I haven't talked to you on the phone other than the few messages back and forth. I miss you."

" **I miss you too. Tell Beca and Aubrey I said hello. I'll let you get back to sleep, I know this week Beca has a handful planned out for you."**

"Yeah I will," Chloe mumbles after a yawn and runs a hand through her hair where her arm is elevated and leaning on the counter while her eyes start to flutter shut. "I'll call you again sometime this week."

" **Send pictures too!"** Her mom eagerly rushes out. She'll be jumping off the walls at how many Chloe has taken so far, especially the pictures featuring the amount of celebrities she knows so vaguely about. " **Be safe and have fun."**

"I will-"

" **Wait!"** Chloe's mom cuts her off mid sentence just as she was ending the call. " **Since we are talking about being safe and having fun, are you two behaving yourselves? Sexually, that is."**

Chloe slaps a palm to her forehead, her eyes already snapped open from almost being closed at the mention of sex. And knowing her mother and where she gets her level of crass from, this conversation is about to enter awkward territory real fast. " **Her Wikipedia page has nothing on her levels of….** _ **pleasing**_ **a woman. I just hope she's treating you right!"**

Yep. Just like she thought.

"Oh my God." Having enough of this conversation, Chloe stands up from the toilet seat and reaches to take a hold of the bathroom door knob. "I'm hanging up on you." This time, her mom lets her go, having enough morning teases for the day.

She's just about to leave the bathroom when her phone lights off again, this time to a text message and also from Beca rather than her mom. She stares at the message for a second, baffled that Beca is even up functioning this early but then slides on her phone to their chat.

_**Sunday October 30, 6:53 AM** _

**B: You know, one night stands where you leave me alone the next morning are only suppose to happen when we have sex the previous night…**

**B: And as far as I can remember (which I'm certain I'd remember every goddamn thing that would have happen if we were to have sex) that didn't happen ;-) But yet, I am still alone in bed.**

_C: Trust me, putting sex off last night was probably the hardest things I have ever had to do. Seems like you were on the same track with where your hands were as well ;)_

**B: In the words of Selena Gomez, can't keep my hands to myself.**

_C: I mean, you COULD but why would you want to? ;)_

**B: Exactly.**

**B: Selena would be so proud**

**B: But seriously, where are you and when are you coming back? We have nothing today until tonight and I want to cuddle with you until we literally are forced to get up.**

**B: Also you owe me a back massage.**

_C: God, I love how I've turned you into such a cuddle monster Ms. I Hate Physical Contact So Please Don't Touch Me ;)_

_C: Might have to tell TMZ ;)_

**B: You wouldn't dare.**

**B: I'll neither confirm nor deny if you do, Beale.**

_C: We will see about that ;)_

_C: So you want one of my infamous back rubs? You do know those require your shirt off…_

**B: As long as your's comes off with mine**

_C: hmm, maybe that can be arranged. Are you sure you'll be able to handle it? You know, with waiting till your birthday and all. The last thing I want is to torture you ;)_

**B: I can handle it.**

**B: The question is whether you can handle it? ;-)**

_C: Debateable ;)_

_C: Mom called. Wanted to know if you'd be up to spending a weekend down at my family's beach house. She's pretty much dying to meet you lol_

_C: Can't say I don't blame her. You're something else Mitchell ;)_

**B: So they say ;-)**

**B: Yeah, for sure. I'd have to talk to Diplo and Roger but with the album wrapping up, I'm about to have all the free time in the world.**

_C: Cool! :) I'll let her know then!_

**B: Okay seriously where are you?**

_C: Bathroom…_

**B: Haha why?**

_C: YOU started texting me!_

**B: Oh yeah :-)**

**B: Okay, stop messing around and come back to bed. It got like ten times colder when you left.**

_C: Are you sure you aren't hungry? I'm pretty much up._

_C: I can start breakfast and deliver it to you. I'm taking a rough guess that you're quite the fan of breakfast in bed since food and sleeping are your two favorite things ;)_

**B: You forgot to add yourself-which beats out both of those other things. Adding all three is pretty much heaven ;-)**

_C: Such a damn charmer ;)_

_C: But really, are you hungry?_

**B: Depends on what I'm eating ;-)**

_C: First, the mysterious hand up my shirt and now the constant talk about sex...You're either very horny in the morning (no thanks to being sexually frustrated) or have a very explicit mind ;)_

**B: Hey now. You're the one that misjudged what I said as dirty. I only meant if I was eating bacon or sausage ;-)**

**B: So you're the horny one**

_C: You're too much, Mitchell ;)_

_C: And I can't help it when I'm around you ;)_

**B: Maybe, but same goes for me.**

**B: Also, I need you back here pronto before I go insane.**

_C: I'm coming :)_

**B: Not yet you're not ;-)**

_C: INCORRIGIBLE!_

* * *

_**Sunday October 30, 7:37 AM** _

"Why are we up so early?" Beca whines, head lolled back and Chloe thinks she's starting to stomp her feet across the boardwalk like a five year old.

Any other time, Chloe would think Beca's behavior was hands down the cutest thing ever witnessed.

Actually, just kidding.

Beca's still ridiculously adorable right now and probably always will be she concludes.

But today marks the the third morning without working out and she won't be bribed otherwise to keep pushing it off like Beca has been doing since the time they woke up.

"I don't think I can do this," Beca admits with a deadpan face and Chloe stops fixing the band on her arm that is connect to her ipod to listen to Beca's excuse this time. "I eat junk food for a living and haven't worked out since gym class my sophomore year of High School-which by the way I ditched more times than I can count on two hands."

Chloe rolls her eyes but snickers anyways, thinking Beca is over exaggerating with this whole workout deal. The two of them were just going for a morning jog, probably no longer than a few miles. It's not like they're doing P90x and an entire weight lifting program for the United States Army.

The weather is beautiful in Los Angeles. Not too hot, not too cold and not too windy but just the right temperature. Beca had actually driven them to the Santa Monica beach for their run as one of Chloe's must see requests in Los Angeles. Together with these reasons; perfect weather and the wide strip of the Pacific Ocean, a quick morning run sounds like a great idea.

Also, Beca is wearing these super cute workout clothes that Chloe has yet to see and she can admit that the tank top and leggings are doing wonders for her body. It's still a mystery how a girl like Beca who gets zero to none exercise can still have a banging body with all the right curves.

Whatever. Not that Chloe cares because after all and at the end of the day, that body is her's.

"Oh you'll be fine you big baby," Chloe teases, nudging her shoulder with Beca's. "Just a nice easy run to get the heart rate up. Then we could walk the pier," she adds, hoping it will change Beca's attitude about the run. She really wants to see the beach and enjoy the scenery. Even if it's not at night, the beach is still stunning with all the lights and stuff.

" _Okay_ ," Beca scoffs with so much sarcasm the words roll right off her tongue. "You know there's other forms of cardio that sound way more appealing and also get the heart rate up." Chloe squints her eyes, wondering if Beca is referring to the one thing she's thinking of and when Beca wags her eyebrows up and down as a hint, she knows exactly they're on the same page.

"Oh my goodness!" Chloe rolls her eyes yet again but can't help the bark of laughter that slips out with it. "What is it with you and being so sexual in the mornings?!" She honestly can't complain because how her and Beca work, if she's not thinking it, Beca most definitely is. Not that it helps with her raging hormones whenever she is around Beca.

It's getting to the point where her sexual frustration is unbearable.

Raising her hands up, "I'm sorry! But I can't help it, especially if you are dressed like _that_ ," Beca defends, waving around her index finger in the direction of Chloe's outfit- which happens to consist of a lone navy sports bra and short black spandex.

Using this to her advantage, Chloe steps in close to Beca's personal bubble, her hand just innocently brushing up her forearms. Beca's taken back by the sudden movement but soon deflates into the touch, still not a hundred percent sure what Chloe is up to.

"Since you're such a fan of my outfit, wanna see what's on…. _underneath_?" A flirty curve to the corner of her mouth stuns Beca and Chloe has to bite her tongue not to laugh because seeing Beca so worked up is seriously her favorite.

Beca swallows thickly, her eyes plummeting down towards Chloe's cleavage from the sports bra subtle she thinks but Chloe catches her red handed. Letting it go though, she waits for an answer.

"I mean, _yeah_ ," Beca finally responds and her tone was as if Chloe just asked her a stupid question.

There's a fire that lights inside Chloe and she moves to hook her fingers just under the tight elastic of her sports bra while Beca's eyes grow three sizes, full on thinking that Chloe was just messing around. Just as the bra lifts up enough to show the under curves of her breasts, she takes off running, leaving the dumbfounded DJ paralyzed to the ground.

"Come on, baby!" Chloe is about a good distance away while she fumbles with her earbuds and cues a playlist dedicated to working out. Like a statue, Beca doesn't make any effort in moving. She smiles when Beca is brought back to life and jogs to catch up, wearing a mask that screams unimpressed.

"You're such a damn tease," Beca mutters under her breath without even stopping to run next to Chloe.

Now being the one to be doing the catching up, Chloe shoves the headphones back in her ears before setting off.

_**Sunday October 30, 12:32 PM** _

After their run and spending time on the beach, Chloe finds out that her girlfriend is not only embarrassingly out of shape but is _insanely_ dramatic when it comes to working out. She basically had to drag her girlfriend up the stairs of the apartment because of constant complaints that her legs were cramping and she was too tired to make it up the stairs without passing out.

Chloe just thinks Beca wanted to be carried up the stairs like princess because she's extremely lazy and loves to see her girlfriend put in extra work.

Whatever. She's just happy that Beca was willing (kind of) to join in on her morning run. Working out with Beca was something she could get use to and seeing her in those tight workout clothes, _whew_.

Minus all the moaning and groaning that is.

Where does Chloe sign up?

Now as she just got out of the shower and changed into a freshly washed pair of Beca's sweats and baseball tee, she sits at her laptop to review any school emails from the principal or other co-workers. Logging onto her gmail account, she sees nothing be congratulations from friends on the Halloween performance and an email attached with a recorded copy from Aubrey as well.

Thinking ahead before flying up to Los Angeles, she made sure next week's study plans were up to date with all the lessons planned out for her students. She knew that being down here would allow zero to none attention to her work but more so on the import at things like the study of Beca's anatomy.

Plus, she is on vacation and you can think again if you think Chloe is going to spend her off time on homework and creating musical covers when she could be relaxing.

With no school work to do, Chloe dials up her neighbor Jessica's number from back in Atlanta to check up on Tank and see how her boy is doing.

Jessica and Chloe met in college while they were both in the same acapella group. Same with Ashley who also happens to be roommates with Jessica. Coincidentally, they all got houses directly next to each other and trusting no one with her dog other than Aubrey (plus, finding someone to take care of Tank since he is a monster of a dog was hard enough) she always asked Jessica if she could check up on him while she was away.

Being a dog person at heart, Jessica would always be happy to look after the pup.

Hearing that Tank is fine, eating well and drinking but surely missing his mommy, Chloe hangs up the phone with a smile, just in time before Stacie comes prancing into Beca's room. Walking in with only a short pair of jean shorts and a navy blue bikini top, Chloe's jaw hits the floor, envy and jealousy still at an all time high.

No way in Hell is Aubrey able to get one look at Stacie's body and _not_ be drawn to it. If so, that should be a sin to let such a masterpiece slip from her fingertips.

_Sack up Bree, seriously! Was Stacie sculpted at birth?!_

"Sup ginger?" Stacie asks, clearly unaware at the very little clothing she has on and the bulge in Chloe's eyes. Catching this, Stacie glances down to where Chloe's gaze is focused at and shrugs innocently. "Oh yeah. I'm going down by the pool to lay out. Wanna join?"

Not sure how comfortable she would feel being in a bathing suit next to the goddess that is Stacie Conrad, she asks simply, "where's Aubrey?"

"Studying her dental stuff. I just got done listening to everything that she has to study for and even that gave me a headache. I'm in dire need of some sun to ease the brain."

Chloe nods her head, understanding that even though it's vacation for both her and Aubrey, they both have individual work that needs to be done. Aubrey more so than herself but that's because she's a genius and suicidal for wanting to become an orthodontist.

"So, wanna tag along?" Stacie asks again, a wide smile breaking her face that only a heartless person would say no to. Today is a nice day, the weather is perfect and her skin is losing its glow since she has been so wrapped up in her online classes and student teaching that getting outside came very rarely.

Beca is also gone for the morning after having to run to Atlantic and finish a few things when Roger called her while engaging in a very heated make out session. So, deciding that a relaxing day in the while Beca is away being a superstar is a nice way to spend the afternoon, she agrees to this. There's also bonding time with her girlfriend's best friend that she is both eager and nervous for, all at the same time.

Chloe changes into her American flag bathing suit, (very patriotic, she knows) and follows Stacie in tow down to the apartment complex's pool. After admiring the size and view of the city they are gifted with, Chloe and Stacie each spray tanning oil over their bodies before sprawling out on the chairs, skin instantly heating up from the sun's rays.

"Wow, this is nice." Happy that Stacie invited her down to enjoy the heat, Chloe speaks as her skin warms and the smell of chlorine hits her senses.

Stacie sighs peacefully and says, "Yeah, Beca and I come down here quite a bit. She usually works on music and shows me fresh ideas and what not. It's relaxing."

" _Beca_ actually comes out in the sun? Don't vampires usually burst into flames at the sight of sunlight?" Chloe jokes with a snicker and Stacie quickly joins.

"I know it doesn't look like it because the girl is still pasty white but yeah, she often keeps me company out here a lot."

"How long have you two known each other?" Chloe asks, twisting her head to look at Stacie-which is the all around wrong move to do as she suddenly feels very insecure of her body.

"God, too long. Middle school was when we first met. She was the awkward, anti social girl that I assumed fell into the dark hole of the ' _skater phase.'_  Little did I know plaid and heavy eyeliner would shadow her all the way up till today." Chloe laughs, picturing the image of young Beca. Adorable is what she sees to say the least.

"I was hooked by her snarky attitude and pissed off persona that I wiggled my way into her life and it was the best decision I could have ever made. She's family."

Stacie is one of very few, Chloe concludes. There isn't much people out in the world as special as Stacie but she's happy Beca has a friend this secure by her side. She can actually relate to this as Aubrey has been there through thick and thin, and though they aren't blood related, she's the sister Chloe has always wanted. 

"Since we are on the Beca topic," Stacie drawls, inclining the pool chair up so she can sit facing Chloe. The glasses on her eyes move to her hair as Chloe is greeted by snakey green eyes that now have an edge to them.

She knows this look.

If by all the years living with Aubrey and picking up this glare in the more serious matters, she knows by experience Stacie is about to lay a mouthful on her.

Is it too late to go back inside and stuff her face with textbooks?

Chloe takes her chance to gulp a nervous swallow, preparing herself for whatever storm is about to brew her way.

"Beca is my girl. She's been there for me through the hardest times and has seen me at my worst. Without her, I don't know how I'd be the confident, upbeat person I am today." Okay, so far so good. There isn't any threats or yelling. Maybe she's in the clear. "Beca likes to keep up this whole image of being made of stone and nothing will hurt her, but I see right through it."

Stacie gives an awkward pause so Chloe nods her head in understanding, assuming that Stacie is making sure she is listening and everything isn't going in one ear, out the other.

Continuing after this nod, "just like any other human being, Beca has feelings and emotions, whether she likes them or not. It's not often she breaks down. I was the first to experience it when her mom passed away and it sucked the life right out of me."

Another awkward pause, Chloe nods again, this time more shaky. There's a hunch in her gut that the grand finale is about to come next and she doesn't know if she is prepared for it

"If I _ever_ have to experience a heartbroken Beca Mitchell and find out you're the reason behind it, I'll fly down to Georgia myself and _end_ you…..verbally that is!" Stacie quickly adds when the look of straight terror morphs to Chloe's features. "I'm not going to like…. _attack_ you, or do anything violent. Sorry, that came out wrong."

Well that threat makes Chloe feel ten times better.

Ha Ha, _not_.

"It's just, Beca means a lot to me and I've seen her heart get shattered into a million pieces and it wasn't fun putting them all back together," Stacie explains in a far more relaxing tone that doesn't seem like she is seconds away from clawing at Chloe's face.

The interesting thing and something that has been missing from previous relationships of her's is that communication component and if it happens to be missing, nothing is healthy. Without that one little key, the best relationships can quickly transform to the worst.

Not with Beca though.

Truthfully, it's a little concerning how much the two of them share with each other but that's the beauty of long distance relationships. You're forced, _so to say_ , with only talking to each other, getting to know all the little bits and details without that physical connection. When it comes to scheduling phone calls, Skype dates, and texting every second of every day, her and Beca are able to strive at keeping their communication at an all time high.

There's intimacy there, don't get Chloe wrong, especially when meeting someone for the first time after only talking through a metal device. But on a teeter totter, the talking aspect outweighs anything physical.

She's already heard about Beca's past. In other words, she's heard the stories about Beca's exes; one of them greatly standing out compared to all the others but she's heard them all.

And likewise, Beca has heard about all of her exes, such as Paul and literally anything else she wanted to know.

Needless to say, Chloe understands where Stacie is coming from and why she is so protective. Regarding the story Beca told about this one particular ex, she can take a wild guess at how hard it was for Beca to bounce back. Plus she knows for a fact Aubrey would say (probably did) the same thing to Beca.

"I won't hurt her." Chloe doesn't just say this to get Stacie off her back because she's equally scared and kind of wishing this "best friend" interrogation was over. But she is saying it as a promise.

And she means it.

Happy with the answer, Stacie's eyes change back into cheerful greens before her sunglasses drop back down to cover them. Like a full three sixty spin on behavior, a cheeky smile comes next, flooding their previous conversation as if it didn't happen.

"Good, because I like you and I think you're something special for Beca. God knows she deserves it," Stacie nonchalantly throws in as she positions herself back to lay stomach down, now allowing the sun to hit her backside.

Chloe inhales and exhales a deep breath, finally making it pass the conversation no partner ever wants to sit through. After, Chloe doesn't know if she's scared shitless of what Stacie is capable of, or inspired by such a powerful friendship.

She's hovering more around the second option.

Chloe sighs into the sky, eyes closing shut beneath her glasses as the heat from the sun relaxes her muscles. Her run this morning did a number on her quads that even getting into the pool sounds like a good idea.

Wanting to bring this up for the past few days but never having the chance to because she never got alone time with Stacie, Chloe asks, "because Aubrey is in denial and won't tell me anything that's going on, what's up with you two?"

Stacie snorts and Chloe thinks she can spot a faint blush rise to the taller girl's cheeks. That or it's the heat from outside.

"I'm in the same position as you, ginger. When you find out, can you let me know?"

"How can you _not_ know?!" Chloe screeches, only able to laugh in shock at how dense this two human beings were. Their feelings for each other might as well just be stapled to their foreheads.

"Aubrey is a mixing pot of sexiness, beauty, hotness and just the total package when looking for a girl. She's incredibly smart and that alone is a turn on for me. Maybe there's something there between us, maybe there isn't but at the end of the day-or should I say week- Aubrey is flying down Georgia. I live here in LA, she lives in Atlanta. A relationship for us just wouldn't work out."

Chloe frowns at hearing this. "That's not true. Look at Beca and I. We are working out pretty well and would like to hope it stays that way."

Stacie puffs a breath. Maybe it's a scoff but Chloe can't really tell. "Your relationship with Beca is truly beautiful, especially to see the effects in person. I don't know how you guys do it but the whole world thinks your relationship is a damn _miracle_. Not many could say the same but to the ones trying, they look up to you guys."

A knot forms inside Chloe's throat at Stacie's words. She's never thought about this before. How everyone else sees their relationship. Being looked at as inspiration is not only scary but adds a lot of pressure. However, giving couples a chance of hope with their relationship, no matter what the distance is, that's priceless.

" _I_ look up to you guys." Stacie half smiles brightly, cheek smushed into the pool chair. "Before you came around, I believed long distance relationships were doomed from the start. Now seeing my best friend experience through one, I think way differently now as I would hate for the first strong relationship I've seen Beca in crash and burn"

Chloe mirrors the smile, emotions bouncing all over the place right now.

"Which is probably why I'm _considering_ something more with Aubrey," Stacie leaves this and turns her head away from Chloe's newly gaped mouth and amusement laced within her eyes.

She's about to ask a series of questions after this cliffhanger but hastily and purposefully, Stacie changes the topic to tonight's festival costume- which is bringing back the 80's.

Fifteen minutes later after talking about more lighter things, Chloe hears her phone go off and just by the text tone, she knows it's Beca.

_**Sunday October 30, 1:30 PM** _

**B: Hey babe, I'm on my way home.**

**B: Are you hungry? Don't know if there's a Cafe Rio back in Georgia and if not, you HAVE to try it.**

**B: It's Stacie and I's favorite place to get a burrito :-)**

_C: Oh yummy!_

_C: Yeah sure! :) get whatever you think I would like!_

_C: Speaking of Stacie, she wants something too..._

**B: Haha figures. I already got her order mesmerized.**

**B: Wait, you're with her? What are you guys doing?**

_C: We went down to the pool and are currently tanning :)_

**B: Tanning?**

**B: That means you're in a bikini.**

_C: Good job, baby ;)_

**B: Picture?**

_C: Lol! What's up with you and pictures?! If we ever break up I'm going to be scared all the pictures sent are going to be leaked ;)_

**B: That will never happen because I don't see us breaking up :-)**

**B: Plus, I love having pictures of you for times I get lonely when you're down in Georgia.**

_C: Awh :( baby._

_C: That's super cute!_

**B: And when I'm horny.**

_C: Moment ruined Mitchell! Lol_

**B: Sorry not sorry ;-)**

**B: I'm in need of a new screen saver. A bikini pic sounds like the best replacement**

_C: No I won't send you a picture because if you hurry back home, you can see me up close and personal ;)_

_C: Are you texting and driving?_

**B: No I'm sitting in my car.**

**B: I'm about to be driving since I have a hot girlfriend in a bikini to come home to so, I gotta go.**

**B: I love you**

_C: I love you too ;) no speeding please?_

**B: Not if I don't get caught ;-)**

_C: Beca! Be careful!_

_C: You won't be able to do anything with me if you're dead! :(_

**B: I promise I won't speed. Okay bye, I love you!**

_C: Love you too xoxo_

* * *

_**Monday October 31, 11:36 AM** _

As promised, Beca takes Chloe and the rest of the gang to the mall in search for the perfect Halloween costumes to participate in the last night of the festival. They zig zag back and forth between shops while Beca exaggerates about how much her feet are bothering her, acting like they just got done walking a marathon.

Victoria's Secret is where they spend majority of their time during the shopping spree. Stacie and Aubrey have mutually decided for their costumes to go as Angels so they needed all the lingerie and bathrobes they could find to complete their look. For Chloe, this store is also a hit because a reminder of her and Beca's special night coming up for someone's birthday flashes through her head and she wants to pick out something equally nice as it is sexy to flaunt for the birthday girl when the night comes. So, while she is secretly scavenging through the matching lingerie sets without Beca noticing, Aubrey gets the hint and drags the girl out of the room and into a nearby music store that catches her attention instantly without so much of a wonder as to what is going on.

When shopping for Halloween costumes with Beca, Chloe honestly didn't prepare herself for how impossibly hard it would be to get Beca to change, or even voice her ideas of what she wanted to wear. Seriously, it was like pulling teeth from a child trying to make Beca go into the dressing room.

 _Of course,_ all Chloe needed to do is give Beca a little show once she is done changing into each individual outfit choice to speed up the process and when she does, finding costumes they both liked became easier.

Breaking the gender role and looking insanely hot as a duo, they settle on Sandy and Danny from Grease for their costume. All Chloe had to do is mention leather and tight clothes and Beca was in before she even finished her sentence. Something about being comfortable in black skinny jeans and chucks is the one way to her heart compared to the skirts Chloe had her trying on before this one-which is not.

But also Chloe thinks Beca has this fetish of seeing her girlfriend dress in black leather that was the automatic green light for the costume, plus the amount of cleavage and skin the black crop top gave her, as well as the slipping drool at the corner of her mouth was an indicator that Beca enjoyed this look the most.

_**Monday October 31, 7:20 PM** _

After spending most of the day at the mall while picking out every necessity for their costumes, by the time they get back to the apartment it's almost time to head out.

Chloe helps Beca get ready; she curls her hair to perfection and applies as much eyeliner possible in one pen-which Beca is happy to allow. Her hair gets a little tricky as she wants to get it as close as possible to the actual Sandy's hair in the final scene of _Grease_. So, she messes with it a little until she has to get help from the beauty guru, Stacie, before she ends up doing something she will regret to her hair

Like a charm, Stacie works her magic as Chloe sits patiently in a desk chair, listening to music but also taking a glimpse of Stacie's finished costume and unable to tear her eyes away from the amount of legs and cleavage this girl is currently showing under her baby blue bathrobe and angel wings. It's not in the sexual way she's ogling her but more so because Stacie's body shape should honestly be a crime and she doesn't really understand how she is able to have the brains plus the body. Usually, it's one or the other.

Not both.

All Chloe knows is that she'd give her right arm, some toes and fingers for a body like Stacie's.

Aubrey comes in once she is finished getting ready and similar to Stacie's costume, she is lacking in the clothing department besides the fancy lingerie hidden underneath her own pink, silky robe and individual pair of wings. Her hair is almost as shiny and straight as her robe and her eyes have a smokey look to them that makes her emerald eyes pop. She's also wearing a headband with a connected halo that hovers over her head while a matching one is hooked on her index finger which Chloe can assume are Stacie's.

"You look _hot_ ," Chloe blurts, watching Aubrey strut her way into the room before taking a seat on the edge of Stacie's bed, confidence dripping from her pores. It's not a shock that Aubrey is attractive; she's tall, blonde and a genius. That's the triple package. But it's not everyday she flaunts what her momma gave her and seeing it now in person, it's more than a little impressive.

The curling in her hair stalls and she can assume Stacie agrees. She doesn't even need to look and know that Stacie is probably catching flies with her jaw touching the floor. It's not until the heat from the curler almost burns through her scalp when she screeches in pain and causes Stacie to continue her work before she scorches her hair off.

Not much later and making a grand entrance into Stacie's room, Beca struts her way under a tight black leather jacket, black skinny jeans and brand new chucks for Chloe to gape at. By now, her costume is finished and her hair almost looks like an exact replica of thee Sandy Olsson. She's put on the tightest, high waisted black leathered pants she could find at the mall, along with the black crop top and a belt that is worn under a similar looking jacket to Beca's.

Getting straight to the point, Chloe is sure that she forgets to breathe as she takes in the badassery persona that Beca has going on. The ear spikes add to the costume, as well as her heavy makeup and her hair is straight and pushed back and _oh my God_ Chloe doesn't know how she is going to make it through Saturday to get into those pair of skinny jeans, let alone make it through tonight.

_Lord, help me._

"Sandy?" Beca is next to catch Chloe's costume and when she does, her eyes almost bulge from her sockets.

Wanting to laugh (maybe faint) but knowing exactly what Beca is doing right this second, Chloe settles for a sly smirk, cocking her hip, which is then followed by one of her hands to rest upon it. All that is missing is a light cigarette to really spur the illusion.

Her tongue curves up to touch the front of her two teeth, "tell me about it,"

" _I got chills, they're multiplyin' and I'm looooosin' control."_ Chloe about melts to goo once Beca starts to sing but manages to keep up her superior front, not allowing Beca's voice to unravel her like it wants to. " _Cause the power you're supplyin', it's electrifyin'"_ Beca then shakes as if she is being electrocuted and falls to her knees.

Playing along and kicking one of her red heeled wedges to push into Beca's chest, " _you better shape up, cause I need a_ _ **woman,**_ " Chloe corrects with a smirk. _"And my heart is set on you. You better shape up, you better understand, to my heart I must be true."_

Smoothly, Chloe must admit, Beca stands to her feet and hooks a hand around her waist, bringing their bodies to smash against each other. " _Nothing left, nothing left for me to do."_

At this point, Chloe physically can't continue the song due to the magical blend of both their voices and this sexy swagger Beca has going on only makes her want to kiss the living daylights of her. So, she does this and completely forgets about the two other people in the room until Aubrey clears her throat way more dramatic than necessary before the kiss became any hotter than it already was.

"You guys are _grossly_ adorable," Stacie compliments….or Chloe thinks it's a compliment. "And insanely good looking." This time Chloe knows for sure Stacie means it as a compliments and all Beca can do to thank her is give a cocky shrug, confidence oozing from just the motion. Chloe's knows for a fact Beca thinks she is the hottest walking being on Earth, which is _so_ true it almost seems fake, so she can't even really argue against that.

Leather man.

It's the _freaking_ leather.

Aubrey and Stacie then go on about finishing touches to their costumes, leaving Beca and Chloe alone in the room, still in the same position as before.

"Is our bet still on?" Beca asks once the other two are out of the room and a far enough distance away.

"Yeah why? You backing out already?" Chloe teases, poking Beca in the stomach a few times, greatly enjoying how ticklish Beca is. "You're nuts if you think they'll wait to hook up until _Wednesday_. You did see their outfits, right?"

"Fuck, I know," Beca breathes a chuckle, shaking her head and Chloe can see a hint of regret with her decision. "Kissing doesn't count right? Because there is no way they can last without playing tonsil hockey tonight. They're probably making out right now and _we_ wouldn't even know."

"No it doesn't because if it did, that would insinuate that we've already hooked up. Many times I might add." Chloe tosses in a wink. "Which reminds me, your hair looks really sexy pushed back." She gestures to where brown hair is thrown up and over Beca's head where her fingers combed through.

Beca does this squinting thing with her eyes that vibrates Chloe's insides. There's also that killer smirk which doesn't help the case of Chloe's sanity. "I feel like that saying is from a movie."

Despite her current trance over Beca, Chloe pulls away from Beca's hold and clenches at her heart. "You aren't about to confess that you haven't seen _Mean Girls_ now are you?!" Beca shrugs her shoulders guilty, gnawing at her bottom lip. "Oh my God! How are you even a girl!? We are so watching that tonight before bed!"

" _Unless_ I causally forget about you at the concert tonight and accidentally leave you there," Beca drawls, winking at Chloe who shows obvious offence.

"You would _not_ , Mitchell. I would think that a movie with an entire cast of hot girls would definitely catch your attention."

"The only hot girl I need is right in front of me," Beca cooes, bringing Chloe back in by the hip so the curves of their mouths are mirroring against one another.

Thankful that Beca is supporting her because if not, Chloe can take a rough guess and say her knees would've gave out by the sudden wobble. This girl is going to be the Goddamn death of her she knows it.

Pecking Beca's lips just once, Chloe moves away from Beca's hold in search for her purse. "As much as I truly love my badass girlfriend, cheesy Beca will always be my favorite."

Beca rolls her eyes, reaching out again for one of Chloe's hands and tows her for the door. "Well good thing you aren't lactose intolerant."

_**Monday October 31, 9:30 PM** _

The night goes by in a blur.

People are about ten times as crazy as they have been the past two nights (if possible) just because the festival is coming to an end. As much as Chloe's body and physical state was all for this, she can't wrap her head around the fact that it's almost over.

Vacation for Chloe no doubt has been ones for the books. Disneyworld her sophomore year of high school, Las Vegas for her twenty first birthday, Cancun Mexico for her senior year spring break trip and New York City to experience Broadway the very first time with Aubrey right when they graduated at Barden

Of course all of these places were marked memories inside her head and every now and then she'd relive every moment she could think of.

But this vacation by far has to be the most significant.

And it's not even halfway over yet.

Chloe stands alone in the crowd at this time during a break for the next performer to get situated up on stage. Aubrey and Stacie have ventured off with Beca to find the restroom and she promised to tell the three of them anything missed because rumor mill was that Justin was performing next.

She doesn't have to wait for long before a hand circles around her waist and she doesn't have to turn around to know that it's Beca. Even though the physical part of their relationship comes only in spurts when they finally are with each other in real life but Chloe has basically got every little thing mesmerized when it comes to Beca's hands.

"I have something for us." Not expecting the sultry whisper to breeze through the hairs on the back of her neck, Chloe twists her feet that have suddenly turned to stone to face Beca whose tonality matches that mischievous smirk inched up on her mouth.

Taking a look, Chloe sees nothing in sight that Beca could be talking about. Whatever she has is must be pretty small to make it invisible. "What is it?" she asks with a curious smile.

"Not here." Is all Beca responds with before she takes Chloe's hand in her's and drags her through the crowd. As predicted, Justin opens his set with "Cold Water" so maneuvering through the teenage girls screaming psychopathic is more than a challenge.

They both make it outside with only minimal attention brought by fans. Thankfully most of them are too engaged in Bieber's performance to notice Beca. She takes Chloe to her Rover and opens the door before jogging around to the driver's side.

Apparently Beca's idea of "not here" requires driving because once Beca turns the ignition on, the car starts to move out from the parking lot and now they're off to God knows where. Also Stacie and Aubrey are still MIA so that forms its own category of questions in Chloe's head.

Arriving at destination question mark after only a couple minutes of driving, Beca puts her car in park before exiting and signaling Chloe to do the same. Her feet touch the gravel and she then noticed they're at an incline of some sort. Beca's hopping onto the hood of the Rover and Chloe's quickly follows.

Now as she is faced with a whole different scenery, Chloe glances over the cliff and sees the concert's venue flashing with all sorts of different colors and the faint bass of the music echoing throughout the trees around them. If she thought California was beautiful before, now doesn't even deserve a word because Chloe can't even think of anything that comes close to the beauty this city treasures.

"This is beautiful," Chloe gushes, her eyes roaming over the venue, as well as all of West Hollywood.

"Eh, it's alright." Beca shrugs her shoulders, taking in the views also. She turns her head to face Chloe. "This view is much more prettier."

Chloe shakes this complement off as best as she can because it's almost enough to make her faint. Plus, Beca is staring at her like she's the only person in this damn world and it's really hard to calm her breathing.

"Here." Beca reaches into her leather jacket pocket and pulls out what looks like a cigarette. Chloe squints her eyes because she didn't think Beca was really into smoking. But as she focuses her eyes on that little tube of white paper sitting in the palm of Beca's hand, she realizes what exactly it is.

College has been the learning textbook of substances Chloe was unfamiliar with before. She's had her fair share of experiments with alcohol and even cigarettes (which she doesn't recommend). But weed is something that she's never been within a few feet from other than her brothers testing it out, or the occasional guy smoking at a party.

She can't help but feel a little excited to try it with Beca for the first time.

Beca pulls out a lighter next from a different pocket and Chloe is hypnotized from the start as Beca dangles the joint from her lips before lighting the tip until a small orange ember lights from the end. A cloud of smoke blows out from Beca's lips and for a second, Chloe thinks she's stopped breathing.

Who knew it was possible for someone to look so insanely sexy just smoking?

"Can I try?" Chloe's question comes out raspy and she has yet to remove her stare off of Beca's lips. All she sees next is that killer smirk and the joint being sucked right back into Beca's mouth before a finger hooks just under her chin and then Beca's lips are ghosting over her's and the same cloud of smoke is blown right down her throat.

The burn is not nearly as bad as Chloe expected though the taste isn't the most appealing. She exhales the smoke transferred from Beca, her lungs feeling like there is an icy shield over them. Thinking Beca is just going to pull away once all the smoke is out of the way, Beca ends up doing the opposite and leans in to close the remaining distance.

Accompanied by the bass from the music, the scenery of the city's lights, the euphoria from the smoke and Beca's lips on her's, Chloe's breath gets taken away and she spends the last night of this festival connected to Beca's lips.

What better way to end such a perfect weekend?

How in the world is she suppose to leave this place?

* * *

_**Tuesday November 1, 2:24 AM** _

Chloe wakes up to an uncomfortable growl shaking through her stomach that she can only blame the amount of weed smoked prior for. Most of the night she and Beca watched the concert from a far, soaking into each other's embrace and enjoying the space away from the crowd.

The four of them made it back to the apartment not too long ago and when they did, Stacie pulled out the Tequila from a hidden contraption held somewhere inside her room and you can assume what happened next. After a few shots and lighthearted conversation about whatever came to mind, the pairs broke off to get ready for bed, exhausted from the intense energy these past three nights.

The growling in her stomach continues the longer Chloe waits, making it impossible to fall back asleep. With her late night hunger, she figures that a little snack wouldn't hurt. So, getting out of Beca's bed without making too much noise to wake her girlfriend up, who happens to be sleeping like a rock, (Tequila knocking her out cold) she heads to the kitchen in search for something small to eat.

She tiptoes down the stairs, expecting Aubrey to be fast asleep and not wanting to wake her friend. But as she looks over to the pull out couch where Aubrey has been sleeping the past two nights, she is greeted with empty sheets and the absence of the blonde herself.

At first, Chloe is confused to where Aubrey might be since the apartment is big, but not _that_ big. There isn't much options of where Aubrey could be, especially this late at night. She then thinks that maybe Aubrey went to the bathroom, so she shrugs this off as she walks into the kitchen and grabs an apple.

Mid chew, a light bulb goes off in her head and everything clicks when she thinks of why Aubrey is missing this late at night. The promiscuous costumes, the hungry, lingering stares all through the night and now the empty bed sheet of where Aubrey once was.

_Aubrey Posen and Stacie Conrad are so totally hooking up!_

Half of her wants to toss the remaining amount of apple into the trash and jump on Beca until she wakes up so she can rub in her face that she's won the bet. The other half of her doesn't want to get her hopes up and assume Stacie and Aubrey are sleeping with each other with all the missing facts.

But how fishy the evidence is right now makes her want to believe her assumptions are correct.

Instead of letting her excitement get the best of her, she finishes her apple and throws the stem away in the trash. As she is walking back up the stairs and about to head into Beca's room, the faint sound of heavy breathing comes from behind the closed door of no other than Stacie's room. Mustering up a smug smile when she stares at that suspicious door, defiant sounds of her best friend's whereabouts on the other side, which is only slightly uncomfortable that she knows exactly how Aubrey Posen sounds as she is moaning, she leaves the hallway and plops back into bed with Beca.

Rearranging themselves back to a comfortable position, Beca heads straight for hooking her arm around Chloe's waist to scooch her in close so that she's the big spoon. Little did Beca know that their best friends are having sex not even three doors down and will wake up tomorrow morning a sore loser.

She _so_ won this bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fact: My dentist looks like Anna camp HENCE why I choose that as Aubrey's preferred occupation. How lucky am I?


	17. New Presents:Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: Chemistry is STILL kicking my ass :)

_**Friday November 3, 6:23 PM** _

As obvious as it really is, Chloe is explicitly aware that Beca is ultra famous after many encounters with fans, magazine covers and two itunes top 100 singles that constantly played nonstop throughout every single station on the radio. But receiving free, floor level seats to the biggest Lakers game of postseason as they take on rivals, the Boston Celtics all while Beca is preparing to sing the national anthem.

It is almost too surreal to grasp for Chloe as she is escorted (freaking _escorted_ by actual body guards who have been hired by Beca) around the one and only Staples Center, hiding under hats and glasses to make both their appearances less noticeable and flooded under the blinding flashes from cameras the paparazzi's are shoving down their throats..

The grip on Chloe's hand never loosens as they guide their way through the venue and more times than necessary, Beca takes a checking glimpse over towards Chloe, just to make sure she isn't too overwhelmed by all the attention they have tonight. Chloe though reassures her with a smile, letting Beca know that she is indeed going to lose her eyesight, thanks to the flashes (yay for sunglasses in doors now that she has hit that level of fame because of their relationship and it has became socially acceptable. _How freaking cool is that_?) but is fine other than that.

Actually, she's more than fine. Perfect even.

It's not everyday she gets to be treated like a celebrity living in Beverly Hills. Yesterday, she signed her very first combined autograph with Beca on this young girl's laptop case who claimed to be _thee_ biggest Bechloe fan on the internet. If that's not something to feel giddy about, she doesn't know what is.

She honestly can't wait to tell her students all these stories.

The past few days after Halloween have been more than a perfect vacation. The time they had alone and after her brief conversation with her mom, Chloe was honest about her thoughts regarding all the eyes from Beca's fans that have been brought to her name. It's definitely not easy going from unnoticed to being mentioned in magazines, interviews and randomly getting pictures taken of when having a casual day out but being a hundred percent honest and talking to Beca about it all really made it seem far less bigger than it actually is.

Beca, _of course,_ comes out apologizing first for what the media has done to their relationship with broadcasting it anywhere and everywhere and if it was up to her, she'd keep everything that they do in private for only her and Chloe to see. Beca takes the words right out of Chloe's mouth and explains how it might be hard to get use to at first but she is pretty good on keeping the press and fans away. It's all about politeness and respect around these two deals and hopefully doing this will give them a bit of a breather away from the cameras.

Tonight on the other hand as the word got around the street about Beca singing, it's almost impossible to walk a few feet without a picture being taken. Chloe doesn't really mind too much, getting use to Beca's fans and feeling safe around everything under her girlfriend's strong grip. This is a big deal for Beca that she has spent every day since Cassidy's phone call reassuring Beca that she will not forget the lyrics, or mess up the _freaking_ national anthem, Beca's words.

So, all the attention they get, Beca deserves it all. She's worked her ass off and Chloe isn't going to be the nagging problem she has to deal with regarding the amount on them when she has way bigger things to worry about.

Plus, all this attention is thrilling. Yes, she was popular in high school after being on the soccer team and participating a little bit in cheer. Even in college her name was known-which is more surprising than the fact that acapella nerds were more popular than football jocks. Anyway, Chloe has received some extra amp behind her name but nothing ever compare to this.

She can admit it's pretty fun.

The previous few days when they weren't talking about these concerns or too busy being couch potatoes and watching probably every Netflix series known to man, Beca took Chloe over to Atlantic to see the building and her own personal office. Of course arriving, Beca drops the bomb when bringing out a surprise guest who only turned out to be Ed Sheeran.

Yeah, that was the day Chloe nearly passed out in front of her most favorite musician, only adding to her book of embarrassing moments that sees to just get thicker and thicker. Thankfully, Beca was there to keep her respiratory system working and she didn't end up doing that. Impressed, she only fangirl _once_ and that was when she shaked Ed's hand.

 _Sigh._ Now that was exciting day.

Afterwards, Beca brought her into the booth where hundreds of celebrities get to sing and together, they produce their own version of "Closer" that she now has a personalized copy of and bragging rights to Aubrey who would give her right arm to sing in a booth.

There's a lot of laughing and it's not the most serious recording but it's sentimental and it makes her smile a lot when listening to it.

Back to present time though, Beca's guards shove and block them through crowds until they make it to their section. Eventually, they make it down to their seats and it's not a shock that other celebrities are sitting along the floor chairs as well. Most congratulate Beca for her singing tonight while Chloe almost has a stroke as it is Channing Tatum, dressed in a simple laker jersey and snap back, with a pair of jeans doing the congratulating. Others are simply movie stars who Beca doesn't know on a personal level and just continue to watch the two teams warm up on court.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Chloe chuckles hearing how dramatic Beca is being until she catches the shade of pale wash to her face and suddenly she's worried Beca might actually be serious.

"Hey," Chloe calls out when seeing Beca's eyes flash from left to right erratically and that nervous tick causing her leg to bounce uncontrollably. Lifting her eyes, Chloe is able to see the nerves pouring from those dark blue eyes and her heart cramps knowing how nervous Beca is.

"I'm sure you're sick of hearing this but Beca, you can sing and have one Hell of a voice. The national anthem is child's play compared to the masterpieces you create. You got this, baby." Chloe leans in to place a warming kiss over Beca's cheek and is happy to feel that same spot rising up into a smile. Just as she is pulling away to give Beca an extra comforting nod, a group of event staff escort her out to the middle of the court, ready to perform the most symbolic song in the books.

Just like always once the crowd settles down as they see Beca make her way out to the microphone stand place in front of a purple and yellow disk and a large replica of the American flag forming behind her, she starts off quiet. Gaining more confidence though as she gets deeper into the song, her voice becomes more powerful and the belted words echo against each wall of the stadium.

Mesmerized by Beca's raw, soothing voice, Chloe gradually lets her eyes fall shut, hand that's holding her Laker hat she recently just bought placed above her heart. Exceptional is a good word to sum up Beca. That or an anomaly.

And that's not because Chloe's her girlfriend and it's her job to say these things. But honest to God, everything Beca does never fails to leave Chloe absolutely speechless.

Out of the 7.125 billion people in the world, Chloe is able to get her hands on one astoning piece of treasure and till this day, she can never truly express how blessed she is to being able to call Beca her's.

It's during the "land of the free" lyrics when people start to applaud and whistle as Chloe is still slapped in the face with how raw and powerful Beca's voice is for such a small body frame.

Beautifully and most definitely going to be charted as one of the best performance when singing the national anthem, and no doubt will be trending on Youtube by morning, Beca finishes her performance with a killer last note, vibrato melting the insides of Chloe's stomach and leaving the crowd in awe as they scream their lungs out.

Chloe cheers the loudest-or so she thinks- and it's not a shocker really that her eyes start to become misty. She is strong enough though to keep the pent up tears inside unlike before, which is progress alone.

She also chuckles when Beca's body language screams timid as she takes her bow and waves out to the audience.

God, how cute can she be?

The game starts and it takes longer than Chloe thought for Beca to make it back down to the seats after magazines wanted pictures on top of pictures of her.

Who can blame them really?

Beca finally makes it back to her original seat and it doesn't take long before Chloe attacks her with a proud hug that wouldn't come as a shock if she squeezed Beca's eyes out.

"You didn't pull a Christina Aguilera and forget the lyrics," Chloe teases when she pulls away from the hug and can see Beca glowing with adrenaline and looking absolutely jaw dropping. "I'm so proud of you. I know I say it all the time but seriously Beca. You're something amazing."

Beca blushes; Chloe catches it last minute before Beca drops her face, probably trying to hide the red.

"Thanks Chlo. I'm really glad you're here. I-I honestly don't think I could've done it; the concert and this without you here."

"I don't believe that," Chloe counters without letting what Beca said affect her, or at least not letting it show. "You're Beca Mitchell and Beca Mitchell can do _anything_. You just did it, I saw with my own two eyes."

Beca snorts a smile, shaking her head, still blushing profusely which Chloe loves.

They watch the game and cheer along with others when the Lakers score a basket. Chloe appreciates basketball and occasionally will watch it with her brothers but her personally, she's more of a football, baseball type of girl. For Beca, she finds out that the girl is a _no type_ of sports kind of girl and thinks it's ridiculously adorable when Beca has to constantly ask what this foul means, or "why does that guy get to shoot all by himself while everyone else just stands there and watches?"

Extremely talented but is she the brightest when it comes to sports? No, and that's what Chloe finds too cute for words.

Halftime comes and Chloe and Beca are too busy making googly eyes at one another to notice that both of their faces are now on the jumbo screen under the words "kiss cam" for everyone to see. It's only when Channing ( _freaking Tatum_ ) nudges Beca's shoulder and points up to the screen when her eyes stretch to sauchers. "Kiss me" by Sixpence None the Richer blares from the overhead court speakers and makes the situation _that_ much better.

Chloe, being one that has never been on the big screen before but has always wanted to takes advantage of this moment and wastes no time before she's pulling Beca into a public appropriate kiss. Their teeth mostly clank together because the both of them are laughing way too much. Cheers come from every direction of the stadium until the camera moves on to some other set of love birds.

And though the camera is long gone off them, their faces stay in close, emotion darting lasers between the contrasting blues of their eyes.

"Holy shit I love you so much," Beca whispers, each word casting over Chloe's lips as her hands pull and tug at Chloe's low braids.

"I love you too my superstar."

Weightless. That's how Chloe feels.

Never have these words had such an impact on Chloe but then again, never has she met someone as extraordinary as Beca.

* * *

_**Friday November 4, 7:34 AM (Group chat)** _

_C: Hi :)_

**Stacie: Sup Ginger? Why are you texting so early? Shouldn't you be asleep?**

_C: I could ask you the same question! Lol_

_C: But nothing really :)_

**Aubrey: Don't believe her.**

**Aubrey: There's a reason why she's texting us so early, especially in a group chat. What do you want?**

**S: Bree, be nice**

**A: No seriously Chloe. What do you want?**

_C: Fine._

_C: As you know, it's Beca's birthday and I want to make it as special as possible for her. I know she isn't a fan so to say of her birthday, but I want to change that_

**A: Okay? So what are you implying?**

**S: She's saying she wants to kick us out (of my own apartment, first of all) so she can give my best friend insane birthday sex ;)**

**S: Isn't that right?**

_C: Basically…_

_C: Please? I have breakfast planned already, hence why I'm up before Beca so I could cook something for her before we go over to Selena's and then after, I'm cooking a dinner (which I need help on) and you both can assume what is next on the agenda.._

**A: Oh my God.**

**S: Oh stop it, Bree! Very romantic and easy I must say. Beca will love it.**

**S: Bree, don't you want Chloe to finally have sex?! You should be gung-ho about this!**

_C: Thank you, thank you_

_C: I've waited too long to hit this level in our relationship._

_C: To be put bluntly, I NEED to have sex with her_

**S: As long as you don't burn down my kitchen first..**

**A: Lol. Very true**

_C: Screw both of you guys! I've gotten a lot better at cooking since I've been with Beca. :(_

**A: Really? Because I live with you and recall the many failed and burnt attempts at dinner.**

_C: Whatever, irrelevant._

_C: So you guys will leave me the apartment for tonight?_

**A: Where in the world are we going to sleep?**

_C: Yeah about that…_

**A: Chloe…**

_C: I already reserved you two a room at the Hampton Inn for tonight.._

**A: Chloe!**

**S: Oh that's perfect then! On top of the game, I see Gingy!**

**S: Lucky for you, our plans for tonight consist of dinner and Huntington Beach, so it works out perfectly :)**

_C: Awh! Date night?!_

**A: Friends Chloe..**

**S: Really GOOD friends ;)**

_C: I don't know why you guys don't date! Technically Aubrey, you have been sneaking off into Stacie's room to do God knows what ;)_

_C: On Halloween, I wasn't up for long, nor close enough to listen but I can take a rough guess as to what you two were doing ;)_

**A: This is ridiculous**

**A: I'm going back to bed**

_C: Don't run away from the truths, Bree!_

_C: What are you two doing up so early anyways? Getting an early cup of coffee? ;)_

_C: If you know what I mean ;)_

**A: Actually, no, I don't know what you mean.**

_C: Morning sex duh!_

**S: You could say that ;) and Bree you look so fucking cute flustered ;)**

_C: :O_

_C: So that means Aubrey spent the night in your room again!?_

_C: BREE!_

**A: Bye. I'm leaving this conversation.**

**S: Don't worry about tonight. After the party for Beca, we will be out of your hair :)**

_C: Thanks guys!_

Chloe shuffles through the sheets until she is flipped and unplugging her phone from the charger. Sleeping like a baby, Beca is stomach down with her arms reached under the pillow she has her head on and her mouth is just slightly open that small puffs of air slip right through for Chloe to smile at. Beca's topless thanks to their activities last night after the game and because, " _it's so much more comfortable and freeing to sleep without a bra, Chloe."_ So with that, Chloe was immediately the first to agree for this choice in night wear.

She traces Beca's shoulder tattoo. Fingers outline the mixed light pink and purple lotus flowers along her shoulder blade, all the way till the tips of her fingers hit the equalizer bars drawn above her back dimples and does the same.

The reality of her leaving tomorrow hits her hard while her fingers roam across Beca's skin. Just yesterday it feels like she was departing the plane to Los Angeles with Beca, connected to her hand as she is shown every rope there is to Los Angeles, and now this time tomorrow, she'll be doing the same but this time, alone.

How is she going to be able to fly back down to Georgia after the best vacation ever spent with the one person she loves the most?

She can't even imagine going back to texting twenty four seven; it is a constant bugging in her gut that she just can't seem to get rid of.

She does though.

After a while because she doesn't want to think about the negatives. It's Beca's birthday; she's able to spend the day with her in person instead of through a webcam and she is going to take advantage of that before she's thousands of miles away just begging to be as close to Beca again.

Stirring awake from her slumber, "hey," Beca mumbles with a small smile, keeping her eyes shut. Chloe thinks her fingers from tickling Beca's back woke her up-even though the girl can sleep through a fire alarm.

"Happy birthday, baby." Chloe smiles at the sleepy image of morning Beca, with her hair a mess in the best way possible and eyes barley slitted open. She leans down and presses a lingering kiss to Beca's temple.

Once Chloe's lips leave her skin, Beca slowly peeks her eyes open and immediately, her brows furrow in concern. "What's wrong?"

Chloe's taken back by this question. "Uh, nothing?"

"Don't lie, Chlo. You of all people should know I can see right through those baby blues."

Ain't that the truth. Chloe sighs and moves down on the mattress to rest her head on the pillow, facing Beca. "I don't want to leave. This week has been the best week of my life and it went by so fast. I'm going to miss you."

Beca listens to every last word before she moves to pull Chloe tight into her embrace. At the contact, Chloe lets her emotions slip and a lone tear falls to Beca's collar bone where her cheek is pressing. She really doesn't want to cry, especially when today is all about Beca but these poisonous thoughts are eating her alive the longer she thinks about them.

Silence fills the room except for the shared breathing between the two of them.

Eventually, Beca breaks that silence with a soft voice, "one day, I don't know when but I hope it's soon, we will be able to wake up to each other every single morning. I promise." Beca whispers sincerely.

And for now, that's enough for Chloe to believe her.

Only time will tell where the two of them will end up.

_**Sunday November 4, 8:23 PM** _

The day continues after a delicious breakfast made by the one and only amateur chef, Chloe Beale as one big chaotic whirlwind of endless activities. Once changed into appropriate clothes and Chloe twisting Beca's arm to wear a button over her blouse that read "Birthday girl gets free drinks," they make it to Selena's for an MTV's sweet sixteen type of party with ever know celeb known to man.

Beca's appearance is literally a head turner, show stopper. They walk in through the front door where a fancy chime goes off; Chloe with her arm hooked in and out of Beca's. Not even a full foot in the house, Selena sweeps the both of them up into their own individuals hugs-of course the birthday girl gets a slightly longer embrace than she receives. Selena then pulls out a small gift bag that surprisingly carries a few more expensive gifts inside than Chloe's entire life allowance.

It's nothing too out of the ordinary-which Beca appreciates though opening the small jewelry box almost puts not only her but Chloe as well into the hospital. A stunning, perfectly matched pair of 18k white gold earrings, each piece most likely weighing around one to two carats.

Jaw to the floor as she stares at the new jewelry, Selena takes her chance again and dives in for another hug but Beca is far too paralyzed to hug back. She laughs at the stutters of just sounds coming from Beca's mouth, declines the box when Beca pushes it back towards her direction and hushes her when Beca attempts to explain why she can't take a present like this.

"Don't worry about it, shorty. You might not think so but you've done enough for me that even those little guys don't even repay half of what you've accomplished for myself and Atlantic," Is what Selena battles back with before shooting a wink at Beca who is still as shocked ever, staring down into the opened box like she just discovered a million dollars.

Next is Diplo who comes jogging into the house from the backyard where supposedly he is DJing out by the pool. For his present and something that changes Beca's behavior into a little child's, he points over to where two, twelve inch subs that are already built into a box sit with a giant red bow placed on top.

Knowing Beca is a total bass head, Chloe giggles at the excitement as Diplo and Beca examine the new speakers with giddy grins. She can't even lie. Maybe taking a cruise around LA in Beca's beaut of a car with added bass sounds heavenly.

Driving in style sounds _very_ appealing.

Being the natural giver for social butterflies, Chloe doesn't have a problem mingling around with other people scattered all through Selena's house while Beca is taking her trips to thank everybody for their gifts and coming today. Gift cards are the popular option for the afternoon as Chloe is sure Beca left with damn near a novel of them.

_**Sunday November 4, 4:35 PM** _

After a feast of food for lunch, a few poolside covers of songs that Chloe even got to participate in, Beca and Chloe say their goodbyes and thank yous to Selena and everyone who came today. Promising that Chloe will say goodbye to Selena and Diplo before she leaves, they exit the party hand in hand.

They make in home in time for Chloe to start dinner; a homemade Mexican casserole that claimed to be Beca's all time favorite according to a little bird named Stacie Conrad. Both Aubrey and Stacie after making their presence brief at Selena's got a head start for their drive to Huntington, just in time for the sunset-which then left the entire apartment empty and Chloe's plan in full motion.

Successful at not burning the kitchen down, Chloe sets the table for dinner. Beca has been busy working on a few things for the album that came spur of the moment when chatting along with other artists. So, with Beca being occupied and for the most part locked up in her room, Chloe is able to cook the meal in surprise, as well as get all her gifts ready.

" _Mmm."_ Chloe glances up towards the stairs from where she is setting the table and sees Beca slowly descending down each step, her hair now in looser curls than before, a plain black tank top and some boy shorts. "Smells good."

Unable to tear her eyes away from Beca's frame right away; something about being dressed so casual makes Beca's hotness max out, she finishes the table with a smile. Beca walks the rest of the way and places a kiss to Chloe's cheek, murmuring a low thank you before pulling away.

"My favorite?" Beca takes a peek over where the dish sits on the stove and Chloe happily nods her head, biting her bottom lip.

She only hopes that it is as good as Stacie usually cooks it. Being a chef isn't Chloe's forte and cooking in general is like learning rocket science. Boiling water is hard enough for her as she thinks she could burn it let alone make and entire homemade dish.

Luckily though once the table is set and all sides plus the main dish are centered perfectly in the middle of the table, Beca seriously finishes her plate in one bite which is confirmation that she cooked a pretty good meal.

They don't really eat in silence. Actually, whenever they're around each other, it's either Chloe doing the talking or Beca, no matter what the topic is. Tonight, Beca tells Chloe about the finishing touches to album and how she is thinking about taking on a project with Selena. Mentions of Beca being featured on The Chainsmokers next album floats about in the conversation.

There's also talk about the trip to down to Florida Chloe briefly mentioned a few days back that now has a set date in the middle of November, fortunately a few days after the album is suppose to drop.

Often, Chloe finds herself getting lost in the way Beca talks, not that it is much of a surprise. It doesn't help how domestic this whole night feels also; Chloe cooking dinner while Beca is busy working and them ending a hectic day together at the table to share unheard stories, or to simply to just catch up. It's something special that she wishes could happen more than a few times every couple months (if they're lucky).

And thinking about this instantly makes her heart pinch at the reality that she leaves tomorrow, and all good things must come to an end eventually.

This time though she sucks in a breath, takes a moment for herself because there is no way she is going to let this night go to waste with all her bundled up sadness.

She has way too much stuff planned for Beca and doesn't want to ruin it.

Instead of sinking under her emotions, she lightens up. "I got you something," Chloe says, standing up to place both her's and Beca's empty dish in the sink to soak. She moves to the living room and picks up a gift bag place by the couches.

Cheesy comes natural for Chloe; it's basically in her nature. So it's not surprising that the first item Beca pulls out is a coffee cup with the state's shape of both California and Georgia, one with a red heart and the other with a blue, connected by a dotted line that spirals in between. On the back it reads, "together forever, never apart, maybe in distance but never at heart," and while Beca reads the mug, Chloe bites her lip, early waiting for a response to her gift.

"I love it baby," Beca gushes through a cheeky smile and means every last word.

"I know you're not Beca without your coffee, so why not get you a little something to think of me early in the mornings?" Chloe watches as Beca turns the mug in the palm of her hands, getting a good look around the whole item. Seeing and reading everything written, Becs places the gift neatly on the corner of the table and leaning on her elbow, she stretches her neck across the table to place a sweet kiss over Chloe's lips.

Disconnecting her lips from Beca's to meet a fog daze in Beca's eyes, she points down where the birthday bag is sitting and says enthusiastically, "there's more!"

She claps her hands and jogs to the living room, hearing Beca chuckle before turning the corner and picking up the last gift. Much larger than the last present, Chloe carries in the wrapped, rectangle gift with both her hands and sets it on the table for Beca to open.

Diving straight in like a kid on Christmas morning, pieces of blue wrapping paper are thrown aside to reveal a large, decorated picture frame, filled with every last moment captured through pictures of Beca and her from the last three months. The airport arrival; their first dinner date at Canoe's and Chloe's personal favorite, the Drive in kiss to follow. She even was able to sneak out unnoticably with Stacie while Beca was on the phone talking work stuff to print out the most recent pictures taken; the festival, Halloween, the basketball game and even left a large space empty for the future pictures together they will take.

The design is set up like a timeline, starting with their first encounter and ending with their most recent. At top, there's a bubbled letter "C" and "G" that borders the numbers and word "2000 Miles." Overall, Chloe got crafty and when she gets crafty, she takes it seriously.

And as a finished product, she is very pleased with the end result.

Beca examined the present in awe, words taken right from her.

"I know it's nothing like diamonds or new equipment for your music, but I hope you like them. I just...want you to remember that even though we live in different states, I'm still always here. Maybe not physically like I'd want to but as here as I can be," Chloe speaks softly.

"All of those other things are great-they should be since the price of them ain't cheap. But gifts from the heart and ones that carry significant values are _priceless_. I don't just like these gifts; I _love_ them," Beca corrects but it's really unnecessary since the ear touching grin she has plastered on her face really says it all. "Including all the money, jewelry, turntables, and headphones, _these_ are the best presents I've ever received and wouldn't trade them for the world."

That's all it really took for Chloe before she is overwhelmed with emotions and barreling into Beca with a fierce kiss, directing them blindly over to the stair case. There, Beca's back slams into the railing and she hisses at the pain while Chloe can't help but giggle at how prone to injuries they are when it comes to things getting wrapped up in the moment.

" _Fuck_ ," Beca groans as she rubs her back where it made contact with the railing. Unable to keep the giggle in, Chloe clasps a hand over her mouth to at least hide the quickly forming grin.

"I'll give you another back massage." Chloe replaces Beca's hand with her own, rubbing light circles around the lower end of her girlfriend's spine. " _After_ we do this."

As vague as "this" could be, Chloe smashes their lips together again before twisting Beca around by the hips to push her up the stairs and into her room and by doing that, Chloe thinks Beca knows exactly what "this" means.

"Alright buddy you gotta go," Beca demands as she opens up the door to her darkened room. Confused as to who Beca is talking to, she peeks over Beca's shoulder and sees a small ball of fur curled up into a hoodie laying on the bed, sleeping peacefully.

Not wanting to move the poor little thing who is doing no harm but taking a snooze, Chloe yanks Beca's arm back before she could grab a hold of the kitten. "Leave her. She's just sleeping."

"Absolutely not," Beca states firmly. "I don't want to fill her eyes with such explicit activities that's going to go on between the both of us."

"Why? It's not like she cares about what we doing. It will only be seeing shapes to animals and even if she could figure out what we were doing, it's not like she can grow a voice and tell us." Chloe defends and smacks the back of Beca's hand when she goes out and reaches for the kitten again in attempt to pick her up. She even contemplates having sex on the floor just in case they don't roll on top of Buttercup.

But sex for the first time on the floor doesn't sound as special as Chloe wants it to be, so she passes up that option and doesn't stop Beca this time as she picks up Buttercup from the bed, informing Chloe that she is now going to be sleeping in Stacie's room.

After going through total girl mode with endless "awes" at the sight of a mewling, sleepy kitten with her eyes half shut, Beca leaves the room, allowing Chloe to rush and get the night ready for them. Preparing ahead of time to cut the process in half, the lingerie bought back at the mall is worn under a long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of baggy sweats.

Discarding all these clothes, she's left standing barefooted with a red and black laced bra to frame and even add an extra push to her breasts, and a matching thong that happened to work wonders to her ass. She pulls out her hair that is being held up in a high ponytail and allows the curls she did before dinner flaw delicately over her shoulders as she ruffles out all the red.

Last minute make up touches are done through Beca's desk mirror, mostly to her eyes as she doesn't even bother with doing her lips because in seconds, any applied lipstick would just be smeared away. In the distance, she hears Stacie's door close and knows she is cutting it short as Beca can walk through the room at any millisecond.

Happy with her appearance, Chloe flies over to the bed and flops down to her stomach, fumbling around sloppy until she's in a comfortable yet sexy pose for Beca to walk into. She knows she's made the right move when Beca doesn't even make it a foot into her room before her breathing can be seen to physically stop and her eyes stretch so wide Chloe thinks they might rip.

Playing coy, Chloe lifts her index finger to bite her nail between her teeth, smirk coming in strong right behind. Seeing that either Beca has lost all control of her limbs, or she is recently experiencing paralysis, "come here birthday girl." She uses that same finger to beckon her girlfriend over seductively.

Beca obeys on command and drags her feet over to where Chloe is now sitting up on her knees, waiting for Beca to be a close enough distance to wrap her arms around her neck. Only after a few stumbles, Beca eventually makes it to the bed and her hands are magnified to Chloe's hips, breathing problems still evident in the shortness of her breaths.

Wrapping her arms snuggly around Beca's neck, she brings her in for another kiss, taking control and sucking at the girl's bottom lip. They do this for a while, all the way up until neither of them have enough air in their lungs to breathe anymore.

Pulling back from the kiss, "I really, _really_ want to have sex with you," Chloe admits breathless, her chest rising and falling desperately to catch some much needed oxygen. She might have to pick up an inhaler sometime soon because kissing Beca never fails to take her breath away.

"And _I_ really want to have sex with you," Beca battles back with a crooked smirk and swollen lips, hands moving around to grab at Chloe's ass from where she is stand from her knees.

A barely inaudible moan sneaks by Chloe's lips with Beca's hands groping forcefully at her skin. Unknowingly prepared for the quick change in positions, she gasps loudly when Beca flips her to her back, crawling up her body to place opened mouth kisses across her skin, above her black and red laced bra.

"Especially when you're wearing this outfit. _God_ , I'm so lucky," Beca groans throaty- or maybe it's a growl. Either way, it's something that causes her to reconnect their lips in a bruising kiss.

Clothes fly off from left to right- _all_ Beca's that is. As quite the surprise underneath that casual looking outfit is a less fancy set of lingerie but nonetheless still sexy as Hell destroying Chloe's patience. She knows that she is staring from where Beca is straddling her thighs and knows it's pretty damn obvious.

But simply _how_ was she not suppose to when her girlfriend is literally an arm's reach away, looking as sexy and hot as sexy and hot can get?

"Subtle Beale. Close your mouth you're starting to drool." Beca fake wipes at the corner of Chloe's mouth with her thumb, earning herself a smack to the stomach.

Not only is Beca sexy because _duh_ , that's a no brainer. But Beca's also beautiful in every way, shape and form and the longer she continued to ogle this beauty, every curve, indention and mark, the more her chest started to ache.

What also starts to happen is the jitters in her stomach and tremble in her fingers. Sex is a scary thing and shouldn't be with the person you love with all heart.

But for some reason, sex with Beca is _terrifying_.

Prude is _not_ Chloe Beale.

She wants this. _Jesus,_ did she want this with Beca so undeniably bad.

To touch Beca, kiss Beca, make love to Beca.

But why is her body making it impossible to do so?

Somewhere between her battling thoughts that have completely turned the situation into a one eighty spin where Chloe can seem to shake by her nerves, Beca has attached her lips back onto Chloe's, kissing her senseless until Beca feels a stiff, sudden change in mood.

"Are you nervous?" Beca breaks away from the kiss and something that Chloe _thought_ she was keeping well on the DL has obviously made itself present. Last week, the answer would have been no. Three days ago, same thing. Hell, even asking her this morning would've been a no but right now as her heart races a mile a minute, the answer is a _Hell yes._

"Maybe a little," Chloe admits, eyes lowering and instantly feels awful. _God_ , she has been mentally preparing for this moment for months and now that she actually has the chance to go all the way with Beca after promised, she is chickening out _again_.

How pathetic is that?

Beca nods her head as if she already knew the answer. "I think I have an idea." Then she moves so quickly off the bed, not even making an attempt to put her shirt back on and is booking it out the door, so fast that Chloe doesn't have the chance to say anything.

On the bright side, Beca didn't look upset when she left-which is a good thing, not that Chloe could ever see Beca getting upset about sex. But still, she feels like the world's most prude girlfriend and anybody with a brain who is experiencing long distance would automatically dive into physical intimacy with their partners because they're chancing their odds with the next time being together again not doing so.

Not Chloe though. For some reason, her body just doesn't want her and Beca to have sex tonight, tomorrow, or probably even a year from now.

Why why why why _**why**_ does Beca Mitchell have to make her feel like such a clam sometimes?

Body going flaccid into the bed, groaning into the pillow sheet when her face sinks into the silk, her phone chimes not long after Beca leaves and she reaches over on the table to retrieve it. Seeing that it's Beca who is texting her, she arches a brow while opening their chat to respond.

_**Sunday November 4, 7:20 PM** _

**B: Hi :-)**

_C: What are you doing? ;)_

_C: Why are you texting me right now?_

**B: Just talking to you, duh.**

**B: And because I feel like it.**

**B: What are YOU doing? :-)**

Feeling a wave of confidence at where this could be heading, Chloe plays along.

_C: Oh nothing, just laying down bored._

_C: I'm a little lonely though :(_

**B: Oh really?**

**B: I wish I was there to keep you company.**

_C: I wish you were here too baby._

_C: I'd have a lot planned for us_

**B: Oh would you now?**

**B: I've been thinking about you a lot lately.**

_C: Yeah?_

_C: What about me, baby?_

**B: Oh you know.**

**B: Your smile, your eyes, your laugh.**

**B: And your body. More specifically your butt ;-)**

_C: Can't say I don't blame you ;)_

**B: There's more you know.**

_C: Wanna elaborate?_

**B: Call me and find out.**

Chloe feels a rush of heat fly through her body and like a magnet, is pulled straight to the area between her legs. Clicking the phone button next to Beca's name, she dials the number before placing the device to her ear. Not even a full ring into the call, Beca picks up.

" **Hey you."** Beca's voice is raw and low and it gives Chloe steamy flashbacks at all the phone calls they had prior when they were apart and where it eventually lead to next. " **I'm guessing you're calling to get the juicy details out of me, am I right?"**

Chloe relaxes into the mattress, moving to hook an arm behind her head since this was destined to be a pretty long conversation. Might as well make herself comfy. "Yup. I'm sure it will be enough to entertain me."

" **Oh is that so?"** Beca's dark and low chuckle rumbles through the speaker, slapping Chloe right smack dab in the middle of her core. " **I can think of a few other things that might be worthy for your entertainment and time."**

Chloe takes a few deeps breaths, allowing her eyes to close tightly. Thinking that this rerun tone in Beca's voice would've built a shield around her, or at least some tougher skin, that's not the case here. One day, Beca's voice won't have such an effect on her.

It's a goal.

" **Wanna know something?"**

"Always," she boldly whispers.

" **You make me smile, like a lot."** Out of the norm with the cheesiness,Chloe blushes a little, unable to ignore the flutter in her heart and the butterflies in her stomach. " **And also super fucking horny."**

And then those butterflies are gone, replaced by a pool of heat, coiling in the pit of her stomach at the mixture of pure sin Beca's voice is laced with, as well as her deep timbre.

She shuffles around on bed to find the right position; one that tries to steady the pounding throb going on between her thighs. It was no help with the brief foreplay her and Beca got into before this whole phone call started, and now hearing the words coming out of Beca's mouth, she should be embarrassed at how fast Beca is capable of working her up.

On the plus side, it _is_ taking the edge off of how she feels; her nerves are starting to fade and she is starting to feel more and more comfortable. She's also starting to feel more and more hot as they continue to talk, which is going to become a fairly large problem at any moment.

A barely audible moan squeaks into Chloe's ear.

"Are you touching yourself?" Chloe's voice is barely audible for almost a whisper and she maybe thinks that it was too soft for Beca to hear. She's about to repeat this louder until a louder, low moan echoes into her ear and almost like x-Ray vision through a phone, she knows exactly where Beca's hands are at and _exactly_ what Beca is doing.

" **Yeah baby I am,"** Chloe bites her lip; the noises that Beca is gasping into the phone is almost too much to handle without combusting-even with experience hearing all these sounds before. " **Touch yourself. I want you to touch yourself and think of me."** Beca's demand only adds to Chloe's arousal and she doesn't waste any time obeying before her fingers slip right beneath that newly purchased set of lingerie and spreads her legs for easier access.

" _Mmm, Beca_ ,"

Soaked.

 _Of course_ Chloe is wetter than she probably has been her entire sex life, no thanks to Beca. She slides her fingers in all directions to get the _perfect_ feel. She even tries to match Beca's labored breathing with her own as her fingers circle around her most sensitive area.

She uses her imagination to paint of picture of what Beca might look like pleasuring herself; the outfit Beca's wearing-though she's already seen a preview of it not too long ago, but that's not the point. Then she lets her mind wander off while her fingers keep up a steady pace that's at a speed _not_ too intense to send her off the cliff so soon.

Letting go this fast is the last thing she wants to do. A moment like this needs to last forever.

Keeping up her movements, she thinks about Beca, and all the time they've had together so far. From day one, how they met and their favorite colors. Later on, their first date and the first time they said I love you to each other.

She thinks about the time meeting Beca's dad and how she was on the verge of a panic attack driving up to his house while talking on the phone with Aubrey. Now it's a little strange to look back and remember how nervous she was when multiple times in the past with ex boyfriends, she had met their parents and was completely fine. It only shows how much impressing Beca's dad mattered to her and thanking her lucky star, things ended up working her way and she's now officially Facebook friends with Dr. Mitchell.

 _Score_.

Back on track, she thinks about Beca's lips and how they have to be her favorite place to be and favorite thing to taste. She thinks about Beca's body, not only sexually (which is like marble in a museum) but the sexy swagger she has when she is performing on stage, giving it everything she has in one single song.

And then she thinks about all her emotions she has packaged together for this girl in some ultra, super size box that she can't find the right words to deliver. It's a tornado of endless things she feels emotionally and physically for this girl and it should be overwhelming but it's the opposite.

And that's because she is so permanently in love with Beca that it's driving her wild.

" **I fucking love the sounds you make,"** Beca pulls Chloe out of her little analyzation with so much seduction laced in her voice, if she were standing, her knees would give out. " **I want to taste what you taste like…..** _ **God,**_ **I want to fuck you so bad."**

Correction, what Beca said _this_ time would most definitely bring her kneecaps to a shatter as it sounded so much more filthier than Chloe has ever heard Beca speak.

Having enough of this and almost tipping on the brim already, " _Baby_ ," Chloe pants out, forcing her fingers to yield their movements for the time being, sucking each digit dry. " _Please_ come here," she practically begs into the phone, lips grazing directly over the speaker.

Faster than Chloe can even blink, Beca is standing at the door to her room, one hand holding up her cell phone to her ear and the other one angled on her hip. She's wearing the same clothes from dinner, minus the tank top that has randomly been thrown somewhere inside the room, leaving Beca in that same lacy bra which is destroying Chloe's sanity. Her hair is disheveled but in the best way possible, and her eyes have a tint to them that makes Chloe shudder under such a coquettish stare.

Like a force of some sort, pulled from where she is laying down, Chloe's up to her feet after disconnecting the call and walking with determination to where Beca stands, molding their lips together fiercely when she makes it.

Beca uses her hands to grab at Chloe's waist and guides her back to the bed, keeping their lips glued to one another as they walk. Blinded, Chloe travels backwards on the heels of her feet until the backs of her thighs reach the mattress and she falls straight down into the bed before Beca's follows the exact movement.

Crawling up on her elbows until she reaches the headboard connected, Beca cranes her neck to connect their lips once again, and throws one of her legs over Chloe's until both are on either side. Different from their first kiss when they attempted this task beforehand, their lips move in slow motion.

Chloe takes her time savoring the taste of Beca's signature minty chapstick, every swipe, nip and tug to Beca's lips she falls deeper into intoxication. She swallows Beca's sighs and soft moans, wishing this could be the only sound left in this world to hear.

In a way, she's kind of glad that their first attempt at this was cut short because of her minor panic attack. Then, the speed of the kiss, their bodies were rushed, and everything came out clumsy. Now, things are moving almost _too_ slow but it gives her the chance to luxuriate in the moment to the point where she wishes it would never end.

The kiss keeps its tender force; Beca's hands move high enough from where they were at on Chloe's stomach to cup her chin before pulling her head up towards her own. The other moves swiftly to reach behind Chloe's back as she sits up and detaches the hook on her bra to sag down to her elbows.

Removing the loose article of clothing down Chloe's arms without breaking the kiss, Beca unknowingly tosses the material somewhere around the room and uses her hands to brush the underside of Chloe's breasts. A growl from Beca vibrates across Chloe's lips at the touch before another one much deeper and carnal follows when Beca's hands are perfectly filled with Chloe's soft flesh and she's arching her back into the touch for something more.

Eventually, Beca tears herself away from the kiss, much to Chloe's dismay. If anything, she'd be perfectly fine with kissing Beca all night till the sun comes up. But that thought quickly vanishes as Beca's mouth is now replaced with one of her nipples and swirls the hardening bud around with her tongue while the other gets pinched and pulled between Beca's index finger and thumb.

Being the fantastic kisser she is and a true expert with her mouth Chloe has come to conclusion, Beca uses her skills to suck at the skin, rolling her tongue around in every direction to hit all the right spots.

Chloe inhales sharply at the new sensations, biting her bottom lip and begging her hormones to stay at bay. This type of foreplay is nothing but old territory for them. She's hit more doubles in the past week than she has her whole life- which isn't saying much due to the fact that Beca is the only real relationship she's had with a girl, but still.

It's a step that shouldn't have Chloe's stomach in knots like it's currently doing but instead though, the knots in her stomach are the good kind of twisting. The type of twisting that craves more from Beca and that's probably why she bravely reaches one of her own hands off of Beca's waist to smoothly tug at one of the bra straps covering all the good things and hints for it to be taken it off.

Receiving this message fully by the smirk that Chloe can feel forming by the rise over her chest, Beca removes her mouth from the nipple she's been devouring for quite the time with one last lick before moving her hands behind her back to unhook the material. Front and center to the show, Chloe is hit left and right with all the desire possible like a freight train when Beca's nude chest is out in the open and up for grabs.

She doesn't know how long she stares at this sight; she thinks maybe a good few minutes but similar to the sun, she just can't seem to look away. It's not till Beca starts grinding her hips into Chloe's front, which gives a new whiff of heat between Beca's legs that can be felt even through the flimsy piece of lace she has on.

Chloe watches Beca hover south down her body, not once breaking eye contact. She feels every curve on Beca's frame link to her's like a puzzle piece and then Beca's hands move up into her's, intertwining each finger to lay on either side of her head.

Kissing happens as Beca's chest is directly cemented into Chloe's and a thigh is snuggly placed between her legs. With the slightly new position, Chloe can feel with her own skin how insanely wet Beca is right now and knowing she is the one behind the dampness of her girlfriend's underwear makes her release some sort of guttural moan into the kiss.

Beca sucks on Chloe's bottom lip in between her own, a smug smile breaking through- which then again elicits another pleasurable sound from Chloe. Tongues fight for dominance with every swipe and Chloe feels the emotions put out from her mouth at the speed and definition of this kiss.

Quickly, Chloe is losing all the sense of control she has left and feels like she is being picked up from a tornado of emotions that is Beca Mitchell.

And that's not because Beca is currently kissing her like a porn star (Jesus, she knew Beca was a damn good kisser but _oh my God_ this is downright sinful in all the best ways) but also because Beca is rocking her hips in a similar fashion to before but this time, against Chloe's leg that's being straddle to give the most friction between her own.

Their fingers tangle around while this kiss hungrily and Beca even takes the hand with Chloe's ring to twist and pull at the circled piece of silver around her knuckle. Chloe kind of wishes her hands were free from Beca's so she could feel every inch of skin beneath her fingertips and touch the areas not yet discovered on Beca's body. The time will come though for that and she doesn't want to ruin an intimate position she has with Beca for something that will eventually come later.

Lips that are participating in the kiss dramatically slow down, almost to the point where they aren't even really kissing anymore but more so panting breathless gasps of air into each other's mouths. Chloe can feel Beca's chest rising and falling into her own, following a similar pattern while they try to catch some much needed oxygen.

Impressed that she actually had the strength to do so, Chloe flutters her eyes open; they're a little sensitive to the lamp in Beca's room from being shut for such a long period of time. When opening them fully, she is met with two very dark orbits that drip with lust, mixing icy blues to cloudy and burning two holes straight through her's.

Not for long before Beca is moving right back in to close unwanted the distance, Chloe pulls her face away. Beca's lips are so very swollen and her face and chest is flushed with red. There's a seductress, sultry front in Beca's dark image and Chloe thinks she hasn't seen a more beautiful sight than the one right now.

"Are you ready?" Beca mumbles as their lips ghost over, each word hitting Chloe's gut like a bass drum. The nerves come back before Chloe can even verbally respond and she almost screams out in frustration at how pathetic she is being when all she wants to do with Beca is go the next step. She feels the sting in her nose and the layer of tears that sheers over her eyes, ready to come pouring out any second.

But then, Beca lifts one pair of their connected hands up from the mattress and to her lips when she places a lingering kiss over Chloe's knuckles to melt her into a pile of goo. In between, Beca whispers sweet I love you's just quiet enough for anyone to hear if not alone but loud enough to boom through Chloe's chest as if she speaking through a megaphone.

And for the first time since they started dating, she's never been more ready than how she finally feels right now.

Not trusting her words completely with how Beca is treating her, she answers with a sharp nod to make sure her answer is believable and a copied kiss to the connected hands that causes Beca to smile warmly.

With the consent given, Beca retracts both hands away from Chloe's and connects her lips to Chloe's jaw, sucking along the bone's length. Teeth drag and scrape against the skin; Chloe thrashes under Beca's body, especially when those same teeth biting at her jaw move to her pulse point and suck the skin so hard there's not a doubt a mark won't be there tomorrow morning.

Better yet, a mark will probably end up bruising in the next couple of minutes.

Beca kisses every inch of skin her mouth comes in contact with while Chloe thinks that if Beca's weight wasn't on top, keeping her body set put on this very bed, she'd end up floating away. Chloe helps and brushes away the hair that has fallen in front of Beca's face with her hands, letting her palm rest in the top of Beca's head.

Lips run along Chloe's sternum and down center of her abdominal one last kiss just below her navel, Beca looks up to meet Chloe's eyes for any sign that told her she wasn't ready.

Giving Beca the green light with a small smile, Chloe watches two thumbs hook on the sides of her thong and gracefully, Beca pulls the lace over her knees, down her shins and off her feet before throwing it mindlessly across the room. At realization that this is the first time Beca has ever seen her fully naked, Chloe's breathing starts to hitch erratically. She then starts to notice the darkening transformation in Beca's eyes under her predatorial gaze and feels her arousal only heightening.

"You're so _fucking_ beautiful," Beca half growls, half whimpers at Chloe's nude form, hands grazing up the tops of Chloe's thighs and back down. There's a trace of goosebumps rising from underneath her hands at the gentle touch.

Fluttering at the compliment without any chance of forming actual words, as a thank you, Chloe leans up and places a single chaste kiss to Beca's lips before falling back down, too much in a hazy state to keep her body up.

Catching Beca's eyes to which falls to her newly naked lower half, "notice anything?" Chloe asks with a smirk when a memory of a certain conversation regarding her lower region comes to thought. She can see Beca not processing what she said by the tight knit to her eyebrows, confusion plastered like a billboard on her face. "You know, _if my carpet matches my drapes_?" she explains as the bolts and knobs start to twist inside Beca's head.

Bouncing her head side to side, "I guess Stacie owes me Dairy Queen," Beca responds with a crooked smile, eyes staying fixated over Chloe's lower body.

Smacking Beca playfully in the gut, "you guys bet on me?!" Chloe tries to act offended, but Beca is smiling in _that_ way and when Beca smiles at anytime, she can't help but do the exact same thing. A smile like that is contagious that's for sure.

"Stacie was so set on you not being a natural redhead. As for myself and knowing my girlfriend like the back of my hand, I strongly disagreed. The only thing that came next to settle this dilemma was a banana split sundae at DQ."

Beca continues her movements over Chloe's thighs and got dangerously close to area that's basically throbbing with need. Little jolts of electricity shoot through Chloe's veins whenever Beca gets close but she's too busy focusing on roaming Chloe's body to see the reactions her hands currently have.

"Don't worry, baby. I promise to share it with you when the time comes. Tonight though, I'm eating _you_ for dessert."

Swallowing hard, Chloe doesn't get the chance to respond to this- though she doesn't actually believe she could if she were to try- as Beca's lips hover to the mid inner part of her legs, an area that had dangerous territory written all over, like a big red button that is able to control her like a puppet.

Over the few occasions spent together, she's been able to keep this kink pretty mellow with all the times Beca lays a hand on the inner part of her thigh as they drive, or when they sit next to each other at the dinner table. Minus a few flinches here and there, it was unnoticeable to Beca that this area was extremely sensitive to touch.

Turn on spot.

An area on the body where if touched, things are destined to get real heated, real fast. Usually people have this spot on their neck or even their earlobes. But not Chloe. Her's turns out to be located right smack in the middle of each thigh, exactly where Beca is sucking _hard_ against right this moment.

Unable to keep calm at this sensation that bubbles her insides and heats up her core, Chloe squirms as Beca's mouth attempts to suck the blood right out from her limbs. Her legs tremble beneath Beca's lips and faster than anyone should be proud of, she's tittering right off the edge.

Figuring that Beca can sense the effects she has a hold of Chloe as she sucks, nips and licks fluently, she switches legs to proceed copying the some motions, leaving Chloe in an even bigger mess than before while her core screams silent begs to be touched.

As she looks up from the pillow, unable to sit fully still right now, she can notice a trail of red marks already forming in a line from the middle of her thigh all the way down to her knee. An unholy amount of lust hits her out of nowhere at the sight while she falls into a deep trance at the way Beca's mouth moves so delicately over her skin, her tongue poking out every once in awhile to lick the bite clean.

Hickies were never something Chloe was a fan for. This is probably because of the time and effort that goes into covering the little bastards is annoying and tedious. Plus, make up isn't cheap and she doesn't want to layer concealer over concealer until the mark is hidden just because she has a giant, pulsing bruise popping out of her neck.

The occasional few after a heated make out session was alright. She really couldn't do much about them as she was too wrapped up in the moment to care and for some reason, boys _love_ to give hickies. Well, at least all her exes did.

Something about claiming their prize or what not.

Still, hickies weren't something to get her panties in a wad, to say the least.

Surely though, Beca is able to change that right around as she sucks all the blood from her legs and creates her to look like an all red twister board.

Just as she is reaching her last push and is about to pump the brakes before she ends up self destructing, way before Beca has even gotten the chance to actually touch her, her breath is taken right from her lungs as Beca's tongue slides gently through her folds, leaving her jaw to fall open in a silent gasp.

Beca's tongue moves slowly at first, testing the waters and all Chloe can do is release a series of cries to feel something- _anything_ more as the throbbing in her center pounds between her legs. She's waited way too long for this moment to happen and the teasing Beca is doing makes her want to go insane as the pressure building in her gut is starting to become unbearable.

Wish granted, Beca speeds up the motions with her tongue, sending Chloe into a fit of pleasurable moans while she searches for literally anything to grab a hold of. Settling with one hand through Beca's hair and one on her breast to pinch that hardened nipple, her hips writhes in a steady rhythm with Beca's tongue to create a mind mind blowing sensation.

The strokes of her tongue become longer, more purposeful and Chloe is either moaning, or gasping desperately each breath she took. Beca curves up a cocky smile as Chloe dares to open up her eyes and when she does, Beca is staring right back up at her, deathly smirk in place as her mouth continues to play Chloe like a flute.

Looking down, Chloe has a perfect view of everything happening and she whimpers as watches Beca's tongue flick back, forth and side to side. It's dirty, it's sexy and Beca has this vixen superiority laced within her eyes that is shredding Chloe apart.

Beca uses her thumb to pull the skin at top, allowing her tongue to venture just beneath the hood of Chloe's clit which elicits a whole new sputters of colorful curse words from Chloe as this feeling is much more sensitive in the best way possible.

" _Fuck,"_ Chloe says as a breathless pant, no longer having the strength to keep up her head any longer so she lets it slam forcefully back down into the pillow. Unintentionally, her fingers grasp and pull at Beca's hair, the coiling pressure only continuing to build.

"I like that," Beca mumbles this and her words cause a vibration through her lips that sit directly over Chloe's swollen clit. "When you cuss. It's so _fucking_ sexy." Going back to powerful strokes with her tongue, the words get swallowed straight up from Chloe's chest by a throaty moan while her hips buck mercilessly.

A thrilling surprise comes next as that same hand pulling at Chloe's skin to keep her core stretched upward uses two of its fingers to slide gently into her burning, wet heat, resulting in a cry of a whimper. Hands start to roam mindlessly for an object to latch onto something and seeing this, perfecting a steady rhythm with her fingers and tongue, Beca uses her one free hand to cling onto Chloe's, threading together their fingers before resting them on the bedsheet, hand holding being Chloe's one weakness.

New shots of pleasure burst through Chloe's body every pump of Beca's fingers and every flick of Beca's tongue. Boldly, Beca builds up the confidence to hasten her fingers movements while her tongue mimics with its swirling. The quickness of both actions teeters Chloe and all she can do is scream and moan at the top of her lungs, knowing damn well this is a warning sign that she is close.

" _Fuck_...Beca," Chloe cries out to the ceiling, eyelids fasten shut as a wave of brand new pleasure washes over her. She clenches both hands; one that resides in Beca's hair and the other squeezing hard at Beca's fingers in the spaces between her own.

"Do you like that?" Beca mutters one more time, the same vibration only heightening its affects on Chloe's body. 

"Mmm, yeah baby," Chloe is sure she whined this, almost sounding like a cry. But she is so far gone that it's surprising that anything was able to leave her mouth at all. She is close. So very close.

 _One_ more push.

That's all she's needs to find her release.

As she is beginning to fade out into pure bliss, Beca removes her mouth away from the one place on her body that needs it the most. She's about to whine and ask what the Hell Beca thought she was doing when she is _this_ close to coming undone. But then while fingers make a statement, keeping up the pace with strong curls deep within her stomach it feels like, since her eyes are closed and making no effort in opening, she feels Beca start to gravitate up her body, bringing their conjoined hands with her and simply places a tender kiss over Chloe's slightly parted lips.

Once their lips collide and Chloe is able to taste herself around Beca's mouth and layered on her tongue, it's the breaking point really.

Breaking away, " _Come for me baby,"_ Beca whispers this demand and for Chloe, what Beca says, is what Beca gets. " _I want to see you come undone."_ Playback of these words drain Chloe's last bit of sanity she had left.

"Bec.."

Is all that Chloe is able to get out before her stomach clenches tightly and she loses all ability to form any coherent words, let alone sounds. Experiencing that building pressure in her core pop like a balloon, her jaw drops to a silent scream across Beca's lips as her hips grind viciously against Beca's fingers to ride out her climax.

Not so much being as smooth now, movements get sloppy while Chloe tries to fight off the violent shocks pumping through her body, toes curling at the pulsing sensation.

For a second, Chloe thinks she might've lost consciousness from the intensity of the orgasm when all she sees is blackness around the room, even when she thinks her eyes are open. Stars are seen next while her body shakes and trembles uncontrollably, aftershocks coming in spurts. The fingers that are trapped deep inside move in and out cautiously, aware at any sharp movement will cause Chloe to jolt.

As she calms herself down, breathing shaky, her eyesight unfogs and she is met with Beca adoring her from above with tender dark eyes.

"That was hands down the sexiest thing I have ever seen," Beca talks; their faces still millimeters away but all Chloe can hear is an echo. She feels trapped in a fishbowl or locked in a tunnel. Catching her breath back to normal is hard, if not impossible.

Places all over are throbbing; she can't breathe, she can't move her legs without some kind of aftershock but even then they don't feel connected to her body anymore, there's a sheer layer of sweat blanketing her entire body but out of all of these things happening, it's all perfect.

Without reason, Beca closes the small amount of distance left, taking Chloe's last bit of air away when she nips at her bottom lip and all the gained oxygen she has just tried so hard to pick up. She sighed into the kiss, letting her eyes gradually fall shut while Beca's lips worked wonders over her's.

"I love you," Beca murmurs as she retracts her lips and Chloe daringly opens her eyes for the first time in years it feels like to catch a glimpse of a lazy smile and loving eyes. "And also, you taste so _Goddamn_ good."

Like a shot of adrenaline, something carnal inside Chloe switches and next thing she knows is that Beca is now the one on her back, staring up at her defensively as she rocks her hips over Beca's stomach, coating her juices above taut abdominal muscles, despite her legs feeling a lot like gelatin.

There's a part of Chloe that's nervous to be doing this right now, terrified that she won't perform well enough for Beca. The last thing she wants to hear after all of this is that she is a total floozy in the bed with her rookie skills. Unlike Beca, she doesn't have experience with this whole thing. It could go one of two ways; she'd be an expert at having sex and giving orgasms, or totally suck with Beca not even getting off, maybe even breaking up with her at her mediocre skills at pleasing a female.

These thoughts are all poisonous to her but she can't seem to shake past them, which is probably why she freezes cold as she straddles Beca's hips, not blinking once at the giant imaginary arrow point down Beca's body.

"You're okay," Beca reassures with a smile that can light up the darkest nights.

Out of all the smiles Beca can muster up, this one has to be Chloe's favorite. It's not the smile that is showing only half of its actual size, or that killer smirk she uses more times than not. This is the smile that's filled with passion, love and so much sincerity that it makes Chloe feel safe, secure and comfortable.

Returning the smile, she takes a deep breath.

She starts with the basics; the things she knows how to do and knows how to do well. Leaning down, she kisses along Beca's jaw line bone till her nose hits Beca's earlobe and switches her mouth to suck and tug with her teeth gently. Beca writhes under her body, her breathing becoming heavier- which then gives Chloe more confidence to continue her journey. She has to remind herself to keep her breathing calm since Beca's hands have landed over her breasts again, making it hard not to get distracted by the touch.

As hard as it is though, she focuses on the task at hand, which is pleasing Beca.

The second stop Chloe makes it at the hollow part of Beca's neck. Brushing her lips over the skin, feeling the sharp bob of Beca's throat as she swallows, Chloe places her own few marks across the area, making sure she gets a taste everywhere and doesn't miss a spot.

Third stop, Chloe descends her lips from Beca's neck and places two individual kisses against each side of Beca's collarbone. She then moves to Beca's breast where she swirls and flicks her tongue against the nubs, earning a throaty moan to encourage her to mirror the same movements much more rougher to the other breast. Needy hands make their way through red hair; Beca's chest rises into Chloe's face and the escaping sounds she is making gives Chloe all the extra confidence she needs to trail warm, wet kisses farther down her stomach until they meet a barrier of the elastic band on Beca's shorts.

Wondering why the Hell Beca still has these on, Chloe hastily rips them off her legs, bringing the pair of underwear she has on down with them and is instantly paralyzed when her gaze meets her new sight. Similar to look at a rubix cube, Chloe had no idea how or where to start first.

"Just start off slow. Then work your way up to something more. If by anytime you don't feel up to it anymore, we can stop." Beca's voice breaks Chloe out of her panicked stare, heartbeat thumping in her throat and felt between her ears. Thanking God for their level of communication; she appreciates the instructions from Beca so she at least has a starting point.

With nowhere else so go, Chloe lays flat on her stomach, face so close to Beca's center she can personally smell how aroused her girlfriend is. Using two fingers to spread apart Beca's folds, this as well backs up how extremely wet the girl is. Something sensuous shifts inside Chloe because next thing is, her mouth is moving on autopilot to that one tiny bundle of nerves and using her tongue to press firmly over the nub, earning a sharp gasp from Beca up above.

Delicious is a good enough word to sum up the taste of Beca. Definitely way better than Chloe could have ever imagined her tasting. Chloe glances up. Beca has her eyes firmly shut, bottom lip caught between her teeth and looks just drop dead gorgeous.

She pauses for a brief second, her mouth leaving Beca's center to ask, "does that feel good?" Pointless really to even ask this since the evidence is right in front of her eyes, Beca nods her head frantically, whimpering a small moan when Chloe starts to suck again.

Beca's biting hard at the back of her hand to suppress majority of the sounds spilling out and is almost the point where Chloe thinks her teeth will break through skin. She's being loud to which Chloe gives mental kudos to herself as it pushes her to run both hands up Beca's rib cage until she's palming her girlfriend's breast.

A rhythmical pattern creates between Chloe's caressing hands and tongue while it becomes more of a muscle memory motion as Chloe gets the hang of things. By this, Chloe slides her mouth faster and she's going to be honest, her jaw muscle is starting to cramp.

But Beca's close, _really_ close by the way her back arches off the mattress and into Chloe's hands.

Wanting to ease the tension from her jaw but continue to push Beca to the edge, she slides her hands down to where her mouth is sucking and enters one of her fingers at first into Beca's warm heat. She groans at how easy her finger slides in; Beca's extremely wet and all she can do is squeeze together her thighs as her fingers dip fully into the wetness themselves.

Chloe doesn't tease; she pumps and curls her lone finger in and out rapidly, giving her mouth a break and is now able to give her in divide attention to watching Beca fall apart.

" _Fuck, fuck, fuck_ ," Beca cries out to the ceiling, dropping a hint to Chloe as she pushes her hips up for more contact. Beca's wish is Chloe's command as she adds one more finger into the equation, hypnotized by the sight of Beca's jaw falling open.

Apparently the bed sheets aren't enough for Beca where her hands grip aggressively because suddenly, the silk material from the sheets are replaced with red hair. Chloe hisses at the pain but though it hurts like Hell, it's a pain that feels incredible.

"Shit baby…. _I'm close."_ Beca doesn't really need to announce this as Chloe is fully aware at how close she really is by the changes in her breathing.

Moans come constant as Chloe continues stroking her fingers in and out of Beca. Impatient and honestly just wanting to see Beca come undone, Chloe brings her tongue back to Beca's now swollen clit and sucks the nub between her lips. Instantaneously, Beca reacts to this added pressure and her moans amplify to high pitched cries.

Practically on top of her climax and seeing this, Chloe uses the last bit of energy her fingers are capable of and fires up her movements to give the last needed push.

Only able to take a few more long strokes, Beca's moaning halts before everything goes silent, walls tightening and next thing is her thighs are squeezing against Chloe's head while her hand reaches down to grab the hand that is currently causing her body to violently shake with pleasure.

 _Finally_.

Finally Chloe is able to see Beca lose herself, find out what spot she touches on Beca's body receives a certain noise and putting a face to all those intoxicating moans she's only heard through the phone. Finally Chloe is able to touch Beca in places she's only fantasized about and let her tell yah, these are the best damn things she's ever gotten the honor to do.

Chloe thinks she hasn't seen anything more alluring than seeing Beca orgasm.

Ever see a rare diamond freshly shined, sitting out underneath the sun's beaming rays? Too bright to actually look at but too marvelous to tear your eyes away? Well, that's exactly what Beca looks like as her chests rises to maximum height before crashing back down, exhaling all the air she's kept pent inside while her tense muscles collapse. Her chest, cheeks and neck are flushed and mixed with tiny crystallized droplets of sweat. Her hair is tousled in the most sexiest way possible and it's a sight Chloe has imprinted in her head.

There's a mouthful of "fucks" as Beca rides out her high with the help of Chloe's fingers that are there only to slide in and out extremely slow, careful of Beca's sensitivity. Knowing for sure that Beca has came down from her high; both feeling it around her fingers that still happen to be deep inside and the ease in her facial structures, Chloe carefully slides her fingers out, a glossy layer coating the two down to her knuckles.

Chloe admires Beca after glow for a while, helpless to look away just yet.

" _So_ ….worth the wait," Beca is able to breathe this out in a hoarse tone, along with a small chuckle as Chloe slides up and sinks into the side of her body. Weak arms envelope Chloe into her body and she presses a feathered like kiss to the red curls that have fallen into perfect waves. "Are you sure you haven't done that before? Because, baby, that was _amazing,"_ she pants breathless with a weak smile, causing a hurricane of proudness to erupt from inside Chloe. 

If that ain't the best thing a girl wants to hear after sex, she honestly doesn't know what is. 

There's a load of excitement that comes with imagination for sure. But being able to have a visual picture to match the same voice through the cell phone, where each spot on Beca's body produced which kind of sound, it's life changing Chloe thinks. Most definitely for their relationship since now after, she feels so insanely close to Beca they might as well be Siamese twins.

"Happy birthday baby. I love you so damn much." Chloe's stomach, body, arms and heart strangely clench at the words, as if she hasn't been saying them for the past few months. It's a new type of feeling vibrating through her veins and she doesn't really understand why, like some sort of placebo feeling.

What she does understand is that loving Beca never seems to get old. It's always something new; another chapter to this never ending book. She never knew loving someone this much could have such a powerful effect over herself, however, she also never thought someone as amazing as Beca existed in this world but all it took was one random day surfing the web and she ended up tripping into the lap of the best damn thing that has happened to her.

**Wild.**

Beca Mitchell drives her unconditionally **wild.**

 _Leave this blue neighbourhood_  
_Never knew loving could hurt this good, oh_  
_And it drives me wild_  
_'Cause when you look like that m, I've never ever wanted to be so bad, oh_

 _It drives me wild_  
_You're driving me wild, wild, wild_  
_You're driving me wild, wild, wild_  
_You're driving me wild_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My boy Troye Sivan's "WILD" to wrap up this chappy.  
> Hoped you all enjoyed it. Now with a set outline of the end of this journey, only four chapter are left. :( Don't worry though, I still have lots planned!


	18. New Album

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed all your beautiful faces! School is kicking my ass but what's new?  
> Only Three more chaps guys! (Next one is already written but you guys decide when you want it out ;)  
> Not much happens-Kinda a filler. But nonetheless still a great chapter and I hope you all enjoy it :)
> 
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT)

  * **Via Twitter: _Monday November 14, 12:30 PM_**



_**xxdjBmitchie*2h- Missing you a little extra today chloboxo** _

Dammit, Beca should've listened to Stacie.

It's been exactly one week since the dreadful departure of Chloe and Aubrey heading back to Georgia and to say that Beca was struggling more than she ever had in her entire life would be an understatement. Her days became more lazier than normal; she had no motivation to really put as much energy into her work like before. She found herself constantly thinking about the blissful week spent with Chloe but though it was the best week of her life, it only brought back memories and not the real thing. What a blessing and a curse the time spent with Chloe actually was.

At the time when Chloe and Aubrey had to fly back Sunday afternoon, there was bucketful of tears; on both parts this time which was highly surprising. There was promises to call, text, arranged Skype dates, etc. and hugs that seemed like they were never going to end. People watched in awe; Beca got a few snapshots from hidden paparazzis taken of her and Chloe and usually she'd be pretty irritated that even during a sentimental moment with her girlfriend the paps felt the need to capture everything going on in her life. But Beca was so wrapped up in the moment; her tears pretty much drowning out the camera flashes to do anything about the obvious crowd they were attracting.

But overall, everything that happened the previous time when Beca first left Georgia, it happened.

Except of course the newly explored emotions Chloe and Beca discovered the following night, as well as early the following morning that is now being strung together from Los Angeles all the way down to Atlanta Georgia.

It is hard.

 _God_ , it is really hard.

It was a no brainer that adding physically intimacy to an already strong relationship would make it stronger-from what she has heard-but no one has ever told Beca that adding this concept to a long distance relationship would make it feel like she is constantly drowning with being miserable all the time and that her heart is being ripped apart from the inside.

Sure, she woke up the next morning feeling closer to Chloe-actually, anybody for that matter and wouldn't for a second go back and change anything that happened the night of her birthday. Perfect she knows doesn't exist and is only a never reached characteristic but Chloe is the closest damn thing to the word.

 _Sex_ with Chloe is even closer.

She had marks on top of marks to prove this and though it was equally haunting as it was pleasing to trace the purple bruises lining along her collarbone, breasts and neck with her fingers, but fuck was it just a reminder that Chloe was now gone.

Sex was suppose to be easy, refreshing and something insanely exhilarating. She'd been counting down this moment to happen with Chloe since they first started exploring each other's bodies but why does it feel like having sex only made things more complicated?

To be honest, Beca has been feeling absolutely miserable this past week and she knows it's because of these brand new branched feelings she has towards Chloe; the mountain of love for this girl that is wordless to describe and the constant bugging itch to be as close as possible to Chloe even though it's impossible with the two thousand miles keeping them apart.

Beca can be first to say that she was one to never believe in love at first sight. But meeting Chloe online and spending the entire night talking to her and knowing instantly Chloe is going to matter to her was something she believed in. No doubt.

And this week of post coital pains aching her heart, trust Beca when she says this, she's tried to do everything in her willpower to dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge all of these after effects regarding Chloe because one half of her feels like she's on cloud nine with bliss while the other feels like she's suffocating with the dire _need_ to see and touch Chloe before she can't take it anymore.

She should've listened to Stacie when she mentioned that the physical component of a relationship and once it's done is just as important as the emotional, communication part- which already Beca and Chloe have mastered.

Would she change what happened though?

Absolutely not.

But like what she has been saying since the first day she luckily stumbled upon the redhead, she just wished it was easier. The distance, the constant pain in her heart late at night when she misses Chloe the most, or seeing something driving that reminds her of the redhead, which then ends up with Beca missing Chloe even than before more.

She misses Chloe's kisses; her hugs, her touch, her lips, her smile, her eyes and nose. Everything possible to miss about Chloe Beale, she misses, like half her heart is gone and lost somewhere in a different state, leaving her emotionally unstable.

**She just wishes it was easier.**

Especially now more than ever.

On a brighter note during these long seven days, minus the love of her life, nothing from before changes between them. Beca texts Chloe everytime she gets the chance, which has surprisingly been a lot since the album is quickly coming to a wrap and leaving her with more down time that before. They have their scheduled Skype movie dates, which has turned Tuesday and Thursday's into Beca's new favorite days of the week, even before the weekend which is something else.

Beca rants about work and the overload of touch up regarding the album she has to do; Chloe rants about school and tells Beca stories about her students. Phone calls, both appropriate and inappropriate come in flashes during those seven days and Beca feels as close to Chloe as she can humanly possible get. It's not the same as is would be in person but there's nothing else really that Beca could do.

Chloe is there, she is here and distance is still the mother bitch of them all.

Today, Beca is slumped in her office chair away from the studio to freshen up the recent track recorded a few days back with Fetty Wap. Was it "Closer" material that has been number one for the past two weeks on the itunes top 100 chart? No, but no one expected that single to take off like it did.

Beca for sure didn't.

With the album coming to an end, it is a bittersweet feeling. Once mid November arrives and it's released, she'd be free of stress until the starting of her her new project gassed up-which has been decided to be with 2006's pop star queen, JoJo until Selena bounces back from her personal vacation away from music to get a start on _that_ album Beca has roped into producing.

Of course once Beca heard the rumors about Joanna coming back to the music industry, trying to get her name back out there she was the first one to accept the challenge. Plus, Jonna has this new sense of swagger that she came back to Atlantic with and seeing this after hearing the pop star's ideas, she already started brainstorming the possible ideas for the album.

Also adding to this with Diplo's album basically being done, Beca's free time (for a while) would free up enough to take a much needed vacation to Florida with Chloe during the time of Thanksgiving. Excited would be an understatement as she counts the days until November 23 **,** anxiously waiting to be wrapped up in Chloe's arms, right where she should be.

God know's she needs it.

As she is bobbing her head back and forth to the music, earphones hung to only one side of her ear, she hears a knock on her door before Diplo comes in and takes a seat directly in front of her.

"Hey shorty," Diplo greets with a cheek grin, his blonde hair flowing perfectly without the usually loads of gel he slaps on and he's wearing a black, long sleeve t-shirt that is rolled to his elbows, visibly showing his apatosaurus tattoo on his forearm.

Beca still till this day has no idea why he got the damn tattoo and whenever she teases him about it, he counters with a jab to her grasshopper one.

Guess it was faith between them to create a kick ass album since they have matching tattoos for no apparent reason.

"Look at you being a working lady." Diplo fakes like he is tossing his long hair side to side, pointing his finger down towards the opened MacBook that is currently running a fancy DJ software.

Beca rolls her eyes at Diplo's teasing smirk. "Shut up. What are you doing here? Thought you were gone today with Kate?" She arches a brow and takes off the other earphone to hang delicately around her shoulders.

An evening stroll through a grocery store informed her about today's latest gossip as she saw the front cover of People's magazine and a perfectly snapped candid shot of Diplo and actress, Kate Hudson snuggled up at Huntington Beach. Hurt was Beca's initial response as she wasn't informed Diplo was dating anyone, let alone had his eyes on a girl _-even when_ the suspicions started floating around. After finding out it wasn't official until last week, Beca eased up on the DJ and was truly happy he got himself a girl.

He is getting pretty old so bagging someone now was like a do or die before he gets wrinkled and unattractive.

Plus Kate and him are like the package deal of hot blondes and after watching _How to Lose a Guy in 10 days_ with Chloe, she has to admit the girl is a damn good actress.

Also pretty fucking cute.

"I am," Diplo informs with a smirk, leaning back in the spinning chair with his hands behind his head. "Just thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing? I know you've been in kind of a funk since your hot tamale left town so I wanted to check in."

Beca smiles genuinely. There's many people she has been gifted with in her life and Diplo most definitely has to be one of them. They're colleagues for sure but Diplo never hesitates to shift modes into a caring friend when seeing that something is wrong. "I'm doing better. Just having to get back in the hang of things." Eyes fall to her desk when she shrugs her shoulders. "It's not easy but what can you do?"

"How is Chloe doing?"

"She's good. Busy at school from missing a week. Plus she's crammed to get everything done before Thanksgiving break. Something about another recital her school is doing for Christmas that the students have to practice for."

"That's nice," Diplo smiles hearing this; Beca mirrors the gesture since obviously talking about her girlfriend brings automatic joy to her body. "You two are the real deal. For myself, I've done a fair share of long distance relationships; I kinda had to since I started working in the music industry. Going on tour wasn't the easiest and it showed since my past girlfriends never were strong enough to stay. But Chloe? Damn she really loves you."

"I love her too. Almost to the point where it doesn't even seem real." Beca scoffs and there's a shake to her head, showing just how crazy it actually sounds. "I...I honestly didn't think it was possible for me to fall this hard for someone." Ever get hit with that "how?" question so hard, it physically stuns you? Well, Beca has and she first started experiencing this question when Chloe tripped and fell into her life. How Chloe is as amazing as she is; or how Chloe seems to brighten the darkest of days for Beca even by a simple, yet annoyingly cute emoji she always bombards her phone with.

It's a question that Beca will never get to the end of.

"Oh trust me I could tell. If the invisible gashes on your knee caps didn't show it then it is that permanent smile you've had on your face since the first day I met you." Diplo snickers at his joke and Beca rolls her eyes when he points underneath the table towards her knees. "Though that smile hasn't been so…. _bright_ … lately."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Beca had tried to make it through the week with a her usual positive, _as upbeat as Beca Mitchell can get_ smile but she found it to not only be exhausting keeping up that facade but also, impossible. Not when Chloe's down in Georgia and she is here, living two separate lives that somehow connect every once in awhile.

"Does it ever get easier?" Beca asks weakly, not removing her gaze away from a lone pen spinning around her thumb that she doesn't really remember picking up. It's a reasonable question but one she has been waiting for the answer to since she and Chloe began dating.

And guess what? The answer is still one giant question mark.

"Honestly, it will probably get harder." Not the response Beca was expecting, she tears her eyes away from the pen and her brows furrow when meeting Diplo's. " _Jesus_ , staying in a relationship that's long distance is hard for ordinary people but when you add your fame to the equation, it's a never ending math problem. You have your fans that represent A, and your job and everything you need to put into it as B and Chloe and your dating life as C. Finding corresponding things between all three of these needs are all the extra work and that's when things start to get jumbled up."

Beca scratches the top of her head, confusion washing over her face. She didn't know that she signed back up to take math classes-which by the way, she's more than awful at. "Dude, cut the math crap. What an awful analogy."

Diplo laughs at her confusion and straightens back up before rewording what he previously said, "What I'm trying to say is that you have a lot on your plate and at times, you're going to find it hard being able to balance all three."

"Is this suppose to make me feel better or something because right now, it's doing the opposite." Beca deadpans and blinks unimpressed.

"You didn't let me finish," Diplo retorts and Beca rolls her eyes, gesturing with a wave to her hand to get to the point. "As I was saying before I was _rudely interrupted_ , things are destined to get hard. It's inevitable for regular relationships and really, there's no way around it. But you're some sort of anomaly, kid. I've seen what you can do on the tables for music and I _know_ that whatever gets thrown your way you'll throw it back ten times harder."

These are the types of conversations Beca lives for-though she can be the first to say she'd like to be the one to figure it by herself but soon learned that-that just wasn't the healthiest nor smartest thing to do. Sentimental heart to hearts with other people wasn't something she is naturally good at and till this day, she branches trying to let her voice be heard even when all she wants to do is keep it hidden. She enjoys letting down her shield every once in awhile and just being able to…. _talk_ to somebody about the things swimming inside her head and getting helpful feedback in return.

In the past, she use to think that asking for simple help made her weak, spilling all her emotions on the table but now, having a friend like Diplo; a famous DJ and someone who makes millions off of tracks to sit down and have a therapy lesson with her is everything she could ever ask for.

"You and Chloe will be okay," Diplo reassures before sliding his glasses-that Beca can take a rough estimate and guess those cost more than her car- onto his eyes and gives her a wide smile that has the power behind it to make her believe him. "I'm rooting for you two and as the media says, Bechloe will never die." Beca gives another eye roll to the ship name and watches Diplo smirk his way out the door. She's just about to get back to work, already feeling a little better until Diplo peeks his head around the corner. "And maybe you should tell your lady love that a certain DJ got herself a performance spot in this year's Billboard Music Awards."

And with no further explanation, even to Beca's deer caught in headlight look, Diplo leaves her office.

"What?" Beca mutters to herself, disbelief dripping from the tone.

She wants to pinch herself because she might be dreaming. Performing on an actual stage with awards and musicians she has grown up listening to in a building at every direction. There's no way this is happening right now. She has only dreamt of the day where she'd be performing live in front of other celebrities and on national television-and even though she's already been shown on tv for the Laker's game, this is something completely different.

And something big enough to blow her fucking mind at the possibility of her dream actually coming true.

Pulling out her phone, she texts the only person who could be the mastermind behind this surprising and unannounced news.

_**Monday November 14, 2:30 PM** _

**B: Um hi. When were you going to tell me about the BMAs?!**

_**Monday November 14, 2:35 PM** _

_Cassidy: I was just getting to it shorty!_

_Cassidy: Geesh, you're so impatient._

**B: And you're just like your cousin… Always late to tell me things.**

**B: Especially THIS big. Holy shit**

_Cassidy: I know! Congrats! With Ed's break and all, how do you feel about performing the song with Diplo himself?_

**B: Oh God.**

**B: I love the guy, don't get me wrong, but are we sure he can even sing?**

_Cassidy: Lol true._

_Cassidy: He's no Justin Timberlake but for a DJ he has some decent vocals. Plus, he pitched the idea with wanting to perform with you. If the Chainsmokers can do it, so can he._

**B: I mean, I guess you're right. Fans would go insane if he pulled out a mic instead of twisting the dials on the tables.**

**B: Also that's something I do not want to miss. So sure. Let's schedule that.**

**B: Dip and I will collaborate on a song to perform and all that stage jazz.**

_Cassidy: Alrigghty. Show is live at 7:00 on December 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rehearsals began night of the 9th_

**B: Sweet.**

**B: Just in time after my vacation with Chloe**

_Cassidy: Speaking of the infamous redhead, she going to be your date for the red carpet?_

**B: I don't know. I'll ask. She's super busy with school and I don't know if it would be possible for her to take off anymore extra days right before Christmas break and the school's recitals**

_Cassidy: Well hopefully she can make it! Fans would be devastated to see your left arm empty when you step out of that limo and walk the carpet without America's redheaded sweetheart._

**B: Haha yeah yeah. Same here. So crazy we are idolized so much**

**B: I gotta get back to work now but thanks for the heads up (kinda)**

_Cassidy: Of course, Becs! I'll e-mail you all the details!_

Shocked is the first thing Beca feels once exiting her conversation with Cassidy, her manager. Wow, even the label is still something to think twice about.

Who knew one day, she'd go from being that one semi known, full time college student who makes mixes to the latest pop songs to a fastly rising music producer and artist who just received the news that she'd be performing at the Billboard Music Awards, a show she only grew up watching?

At first, she thought it was impossible. She's jumped over many obstacles in her life; some a little bit more tricky than others but even with those few speed bumps, she did pretty well for herself. But did she see her life taking a full three sixty spin into the world of fame that was previously done three, almost four months ago?

Most definitely not.

To say she is blessed being belief doesn't even come close to how grateful she feels right now. She's has the amazing girl who supports every last thing that she does, no matter how big or small. She has the best friend of **nine** years right by her side every step of the way, and a fan base full of millions of people who support her music like it's their lifeline. She has her dad and surprisingly stepmom following her journey and a amazing guardian angel watching her grow as a person from above.

 _God,_ how would she ever express how lucky she truly is?

The answer is she never thinks she will fully be able to.

Almost like a strange telepathy connection as Beca pulls up Chloe and her's conversation to type out a message to send, and unread text from the girl who happens to be on her mind banners with a "ding" at the top of her phone, yielding her fingers from typing. A giddy smile comes naturally seeing those five letters to spell out "Chloe," and also accompanied with several unnecessary heart emojis that apparently were a necessity to the redhead's number.

Such a dork.

_**Monday November 14, 2:47 PM** _

_C: Hey baby :)_

**B: Hey!**

**B: God I missed you**

_C: I know ;) Twitter informed me and all your fans did as well. But I missed you too! So so much :(_

_C: Busy day today. I feel like Mondays are always kind of hectic since we are coming back from the weekend. But I'm free now with all my tests graded! :)_

**B: Good I'm glad. I have you all to myself now :-)**

**B: Kids do good on the test?**

_C: For the most part yeah :) I'm very proud of them._

**B: Just for my personal curiosity and dire need to know if you were to be my teacher, what grade would you give me, Ms. Beale?**

_C: Depends on what the topics are ;)_

**B: Appearance/style?**

_C: Definitely an A+_

_C: My favorite is you in plaid ;)_

**B: Good to know. What about kissing?**

_C: Pshhhhhh. If there was anything higher than an A+ you'd get it ;)_

**B: I like what I'm hearing so far**

**B: Bedskills?**

_C: Ehhh, B….._

_C: B- ;)_

**B: WHat!?**

**B: Please tell me you're joking**

_C: Lol! Of course, baby. You should know that you rock my world ;)_

_C: Or should I say bed ;)_

**B: You're something else ;-)**

**B: Other than crazy, how was your day?**

_C: It was good! Better now ;)_

**B: Same Beale ;-)**

**B: Do anything exciting? What are you teaching your kids these days anyway?**

_C: Oh you know, vocal ranges, the history of music and a PowerPoint presentation filled with the Queen of pop, Madonna :)_

**B: Are you sure that's not Beyoncé?**

_C: Okay, Beyoncé is the Queen B NOW. Not in the 80's!_

_C: I'm sure Aubrey would be more than happy to back this up ;)_

**B: Oh God no.**

**B: I take it back haha**

**B: How is she by the way?**

_C: Eh, rough._

_C: I'm sure you remember the first time we had to say goodbye to each other. I never felt so miserable in my life._

_C: Kinda similar to how I feel now :(_

**B: One week, baby. That's all.**

**B: Stacie has been in the dumps too. It's actually strange to see her blow off homework to binge watch a bunch of cheesy rom coms while stuffing her face with ice cream.**

_C: Awh poor thing! I know exactly how she feels._

_C: At least now they're actually confirming the obvious feelings towards each other instead of denying, denying, denying_

**B: True. Next thing will be they're getting married**

_C: Oh my goodness! If anything. I'd hope we'd be the first to get married!_

**B: You hinting something to me, Beale? Ready to take my hand in marriage?**

_C: Not yet :)_

_C: Ask me in a couple months and that answer might change ;)_

**B: You're a dork.**

**B: I love you so much I think it's unhealthy.**

_C: And your bag of Cheetos puff you keep in your drawer isn't? ;)_

**B: You snooped?!**

**B: Beale, I thought differently of you!**

_C: Not snooping if there is cheesy fingerprints on the handle ;) more like….curiosity_

**B: Wow….**

**B: Curiosity killed the cat**

_C: Don't worry, your banging body definitely doesn't show the amount of junk food you eat ;)_

_C: I'm actually pretty jealous!_

**B: Have you looked in the mirror?**

**B: Preferably naked?**

_C: Wouldn't you like to know ;)_

**B: Um, yes! That's why I'm asking :-P**

**B: But you're seriously the sexiest girl ever and your bangin' body is even sexier.**

**B: I would give all my money, all my teeth, and right arm to have you here again just so I can touch your body.**

_C: Not the teeth baby! You have such a great smile and I don't think dentures at 24 are a turn on ;)_

**B: I have many other ways to turn** **you on and you know it.**

**B: Unless those spots on the inner parts of your thighs just randomly disappeared**

_C: Okay, touche ;) I can't help it that I'm sensitive there!_

**B: Not complaining, especially with the sounds that were coming from your mouth.**

**B: So fucking hot.**

_C: Mmmm you're hot ;)_

**B: For you, yes. Especially now. I can't stop thinking about you.**

_C: Such trouble you are ;)_

**B: So they tell me. I guess your mom was right about my "bad girl" image ;-)**

_C: You're very...very bad I must admit. But you also have your sensitive, sweet side that I just can't get enough :)_

**B: I'll neither confirm nor deny if you speak of this, Beale.**

**B: I can't wait to see you again.**

_C: I can't wait to see you too._

_C: I'm pretty sure my mom is about to have an aneurysm. Same with my two brothers lol Bring a pen and be prepared to sign autographs._

**B: Ha sick. I guess it's a strong effect I have on the entire Beale family ;-)**

_C: I can't disagree. You're something pretty darn special!_

_C: But as for moi, I'm the only one allowed to claim the prize at the end of the day._

**B: You ain't too bad yourself ;-)**

_C: Oh thanks ;)_

_C: Just a heads up, my brothers think you're hot. And a hot girl that can DJ and make amazing mixes in her sleep is even hotter to them._

_C: Just please...PLEASE wear a lot of flannel as a reminder that you're mine and Ellen Degeneres gay?_

**B: Stereotyping, Beale!**

**B: And I AM pretty good looking**

_C: Not stereotyping if it's true ;) and so modest I must add._

_C: Chris is getting married and Clay has a girlfriend of two years but still. They'll tease me about it just because they know it gets on my nerves._

**B: And why is that, Beale?**

_C: Call me crazy but I don't enjoy hearing people call you hot and sexy and my personal favorite from YouTube, a total baddy? Like what in the world does that mean?_

_C: I should be the only one calling you those things :(_

_C: You're MY baddy :(_

**B: Oh yes I am ;-)**

**B: Would it make you feel better that it only means something when you call me hot?**

**B: And that I think you're the baddest redhead out there? ;-)**

_C: Hmm, maybe ;)_

_C: I love you :)_

**B: I love you too!**

**B: I have some things to tell you and all good too :-)**

_C: Okay, go on :D_

**B: Cassidy just informed me that Diplo and I are going to be performing at the Billboard Music Awards!**

_C: BECA!_

_C: OMG OMG OMG! That's amazing!_

**B: I know! I may or may not be freaking out about this and it's still two weeks away**

_C: I'm so freaking proud of you! I know I say it regardless and probably more times than not but honestly baby that is so neat!_

_C: You on live television… Wow._

_C: I can't believe I'm dating such a bad ass superstar ;)_

**B: Better believe it babe because I wanna invite you to be my date for the night.**

_C: Awh! Beca that would be so amazing!_

_C: But I am crammed with school and I honestly don't think the principal would allow me to take any more days off since my week exotic getaway to LA :( I have another concert Dec 14 :(_

**B: As much as I hate to hear you say that you can't come, I kinda figured you were busy at school.**

**B: I'll miss you though. The night won't be the same without you.**

_C: Oh yes it will. This is a very special night for you and not enjoying it fully just because I'm not there would just be silly._

_C: I'll be watching from home, cheering for you so loud Aubrey will probably call the cops on me but I wouldn't even care. I can't wait to see you perform live again!_

**B: You like when I perform?**

_C: I LOVE when you perform._

_C: Do you understand how freakin' sexy you are Rebecca Mitchell?_

**B: I use to hate my full name but damn, you make it sound sexy for some reason.**

_C: Good to know ;)_

_C: But yes to answer your question. If possible and I could make a living off of it, I'd watch you perform daily._

**B: There's spots opened for being a groupie.**

**B: I think you'd be a great candidate for that position ;-)**

_C: I should be the ONLY one up for that position Mitchell -_-_

_C: Since we are on that topic, you perform quite a bit on Diplo's album. Are you going to go on tour once the album is released?_

**B: Haven't really thought about it. I mean, I'm a music producer who happens to have a voice that sung in some of his songs. Going on tour would give me more attention that I do not need.**

**B: Remember I'm a hermit**

_C: Babe, I'm pretty sure attention is coming your way regardless_

_C: All my students can talk about is how Beca Mitchell signed their posters that one night and how their teacher is dating the world's hottest DJ in the entire world._

**B: Is that last part them talking or you? ;-)**

_C: I have no idea what you're talking about…_

_C: ;)_

**B: Dork**

**B: Okay fine, since we dropped a few singles already and they've skyrocketed in popularity through music sites my face has gotten out there more than I could have ever expected.**

**B: Magazines and the basketball game also didn't help with my secret image so I guess you're right. But going on tour is exhausting and time consuming.**

_C: But a great experience! Plus, would Diplo have as much fun without you there? ;)_

**B: I guess not haha**

**B: I'll think about it. Can't promise you anything**

_C: That's all I ask for, baby :)_

_C: What are you doing?_

**B: Just touching up the album before I have a meeting with Jojo's manager**

_C: Jojo as in "Aquamarine" and "it's just a little too late" Jojo?_

**B: You betcha**

**B: Taking on her new comeback album. Just needs to sign the contract.**

_C: Wow. I loved her when I was younger!_

_C: I also don't know how I should feel about you working with hot musicians…_

**B: Haha! Shut up**

_C: Seriously! First Selena, now Jojo. Who's next? Katy Perry? Beyoncé?_

**B: Don't even play with me about producing with THEE Queen B.**

**B: And okay, Joanna is pretty attractive but my eyes are set for you and you only!**

_C: Better be Mitchell ;)_

_C: Same thing I told you about Selena, if she touches you, I don't care about their social rank. I'll fight someone_

**B: Noted :-)**

* * *

_**Tuesday November 15, 6:20 PM** _

_Aubrey: Mitchell. Can you tell me why Stacie is avoiding all my calls?_

**B: Sorry blondie, Stacie has been MIA with school and I've been busy with the album. I haven't seen much of her.**

**B: But I assume it's nothing bad.**

_A: No, I have a hunch that something is bugging her._

_A: We haven't really talked the same since Chloe and I left back to Georgia._

**B: How so?**

_A: I don't know. She's been super short with me and then always blames it on school._

_A: Something is different, I can tell._

**B: For the record, she is like crammed with school work and getting a head start on studying for finals. So not all of that is a lie.**

_A: Oh okay._

_A: But still, even on the phone and through texting she seems like something is bugging her._

_A: Has she said anything to you?_

**B: Nope.**

_A: Ughh._

_A: I should have never had sex with her_

**B: Whooaaaa!**

**B: First of all, thanks for actual confirmation about you two hooking up because I half didn't want to believe Chloe when she claimed to have heard you and my best friend moaning each other's name Halloween night. Second, gross and third, don't say things like that!**

**B: You two are like….perfect for eachother. Whatever it is going on can be sorted.**

_A: Any other time I'd feel weird about what you just said to me and how you and MY best friend talk in private about Stacie and I's sex life, but there's more important things to discuss._

**B: Okay, what things?**

_A: The distance can't be sorted out, Beca. I know you and Chloe are living one big fairy tail love story and are barely affected with distance but you two are an aberration._

**B: Hey that's not true. The distance for us is hard. Really fucking hard sometimes. But unlike you and Stacie, we talk it out. We are a strong unit and click together when it comes to our problems. Just because we don't fight all the time and show it publicly doesn't mean it doesn't fucking suck.**

**B: I hate when people assume that there's no problems between us and we are just always happy, happy, happy.**

_A: Okay I'm sorry for assuming. But I CAN'T talk about it if Stacie is ignoring me! It's not like I can show up to her doorstep and refuse to leave until she gives me a few seconds of her time of day to sit down and have a heart to heart._

_A: And in my defense, for the most part you two are happy._

**B: Yes, but you don't know that, Posen. A lot goes on within texts and phone calls.**

_A:You're right_

_A: I'm sorry. I'm letting my frustrations get the best of me and I'm taking it out on your relationship. I know how hard it can be, especially since I'm experiencing it now._

_A: I just….it's weird but I like Stacie so much, more than anyone I've talked to, which is weird because online dating is a big NO in my handbook._

**B: It's okay. I understand that this is all very new to you. Hell, it's still new to me.**

**B: But Stacie likes you too, trust me. I bet she's just busy with school.**

**B: If it makes you feel any better, she talks about you all the time. Even if it's just brief.**

_A: Really?_

**B: Yeah. I'm telling you, Stacie would never talk to someone who lives in another state if she wasn't interested in them.**

**B: Talking online to a person you like opens new doors in the form of communication so use that and get Stacie to talk to you. I know she will cave eventually once she gets over whatever it is that she's worried about.**

_A: Alright. Thanks. Don't know why I came to you but I'm glad I did._

**B: Of course. I know we aren't the "best" of friends but I'm always here for you whether you like it or not. Posen or no Posen, you still need a friend's advice every once in awhile.**

_A: Thank you :)_

_A: Alright, I'm getting back to school work. Good luck with the album this Friday. I've already preordered it._

**B: Haha thanks Bree**

_**Tuesday November 15, 6:40 PM** _

**B: Wanna tell me why you're avoiding your blonde gf?**

_Stacie: I'm not avoiding her…_

_S: And she's not my girlfriend._

**B: Really? Because I just got through a therapy session with her and it seemed like you two are dating**

_S: She talked to you?_

**B: Yeah, it surprised me too**

_S: Fuckkkkk._

_S: I'm not wanting to avoid her. It's just, my heart hurts like… all the time now._

**B: Ohkay? And avoiding Aubrey "doesn't" make her feel the same way?**

**B: HELLO? SHE WENT TO GET ADVICE FROM ME.**

**B: I'm pretty sure if the world was on fire, I'd be the last person she'd ask for help from. Stace, she's really messed up right now.**

_S: I like this girl so much, Beca and it's terrifying because I don't want my heart to get broken because if it does, there's no taping the pieces back together on this one._

**B: If you like her so much, why avoid her? Why run away from something good?**

_S: A stubborn someone once taught me to push everyone away that ends up getting close because it's simply the easier thing to do. No attached feelings, no broken hearts and no tears._

_S: It's just easier._

**B: Okay, touche…**

**B: But that certain stubborn someone also learned the hard way and found out doing that is not nearly the smartest way to handle things and is most definitely the loneliest.**

_S: I'm Stacie Conrad. I love to have fun and explore my options out in the dating world and the thought of being tied down is a nightmare. I'm not an expert with dates and half the time I want to be alone._

_S: But Becs, I could end up loving this girl and it's terrifying because what if it doesn't work?_

**B: What if it does work?**

**B: What if the sky was purple ? Or what if dogs walked on their hind legs?**

**B: All of these questions are left unanswered but do you want to live a life not knowing if taking a chance could be the best decision of your life?**

_S: No… :(_

**B: You're a smart girl. A fucking brainiac when it comes to the books but inexperienced when it comes to dating. Well Stace, you and I both.**

**B: And with experience and also one who was never big on finding true love, especially through the damn internet, I can rightfully say I made the right decision taking that what if question right into my own hands.**

**B: And I think you would think so too if you just gave Aubrey a chance.**

_S: And you call me the genius._

_S: I think you're right. I'll call her. Sorry you had to deal with two sides of my own personal demon that's keeping me from experiencing a happy life when you have an album coming out and your own problems._

**B: Family before work and Stacie, you are my family and I'll drop whatever the Hell I'm doing to help a sister out. No matter if she doesn't know a good thing when she has it ;-)**

_S: You're right, Aubrey is fucking great and I'm dumb for ignoring her. Thank you for slapping some sense into me :)_

**B: I still don't understand what you see in that woman. Girl is as crazy as crazy gets**

_S: But you see that's it._

_S: Aubrey is uptight, bossy and over controlling but she's also funny, smart and easy to talk to._

_S: Beca, I might be losing my damn mind but Aubrey is the girl of my dreams._

**B: Are you feeling okay?**

_S: Haha shut up! I'm way better now._

_S: Are YOU okay? I haven't had the chance to have a full conversation with you other than dinner Friday night because you've been super jam packed with work stuff._

**B: Yeah shit I'm sorry. It's a tornado in Atlantic right now, more so my life than anything**

_S: And the ginger?_

**B: She's really good. Busy with her music class and picking out her graduation stuff to walk in the winter.**

_S: Awh! That's super nice!_

_S: But in all honesty, how are you doing? Emotionally wise...and also physical._

**B: I'm alright. Right now, it's hard to adjust with the things that happened before Chloe left.**

_S: And by things you totally mean you guys had sex?_

**B: I mean….yeah.**

**B: Also you owe me Dairy Queen.**

_S: NO WAY! I can't believe I lost! I seriously thought she wouldn't be a natural!_

_S: Fuck, what a hot ginger!_

**B: Yes yes, I know these things already but anywayyyyyy**

_S: Okay, you guys had sex. How was it?_

**B: Unexplainable dude.**

**B: Like, there was no pressure, it was all around the best night of my entire life, which every night spent with Chloe is one for the books.**

_S: Awh! :D Look at you getting 'oh so' Romeo on me!_

**B: Yeah yeah whatever**

**B: Anyway, it was amazing and everything I could've ever imagined it being and then some.**

**B: So why do I feel like shit afterwards?**

_S: It's that heightened emotional connection you two have. Usually after sex for the first time, you guys would be allowed to kick your feet up in the honey money phase but for your case, it's hard to do so and all you have is technology trying to keep this strong euphoria at bay which obviously is failing._

**B: What should I do? I miss her like crazy, now more than ever and it is the suckiest thing in the world being here while she is over there living life and all that jazz. I don't think I can wait until Thanksgiving break.**

_S: No idea babe, as someone who just boarded the long distance train, I'm not much help._

_S: What I do know, however, is that you and Chloe can get through a hurricane pretty much. I've never seen so much love and adoration between two people and I watch the damn Notebook religiously._

**B: God, I know. It's quite concerning**

_S: You know you love our chick flick nights so don't even._

_S: Anyway, I know it's really hard right now with your feelings getting stronger and the distance not getting smaller but it will be fine. You're Beca Mitchell and I'm positive that in the end, you'll find a way to be happy twenty four seven._

**B: Thanks Stace :-)**

**B: What are you doing?**

_S: Coming back from the library. I can only work on Physics for so long before it mentally fucks my brain._

**B: Gross**

**B: Wanna bring me that Dairy Queen?**

_S: You're joking…_

**B: I'll take a peanut butter parfait**

_S: Fine, but you're coming with me_

**B: Whoa! No way!**

**B: I won the bet fair and square**

_S: Come on! I haven't seen you in foreverrr_

**B: We live together!**

_S: But I haven't seen and had a face to face conversation with you :(_

_S: We need to bond._

**B: You're my bestfriend. I don't think we need any more bonding because I know more about you than I want.**

_S: I'll buy you fries too….maybe even some chicken strips._

_S: Don't you lovvveeee those? ;)_

**B: …**

**B: Fine**

_S: Be there in five ;)_

* * *

_**Thursday November 17, 10:45 AM** _

Today is a complete disaster; or in other words, a total shit show and it's not even noon yet.

Today also marks the last day before Diplo's highly anticipated album drops at midnight tonight and to say that Beca isn't biting her fingernails down to her nubs would be a damn lie. Honest to her word, she has put a lot of time and effort into this album; all the blood, sweat and tears to making this album an album to shock people. Not only does she have her own fans to live up to their expectations but she also has Diplo's fan base, and even Selena's with her being featured in a few of the tracks.

Either way and whoever it is, impressed needs to be the first thing that hits their faces when listening to the album.

At Atlantic, the kaos doesn't really come from the others around Beca but more so herself and her own brain that is going haywire in anticipation. She's already heard the tracks, already produced and created the music to the best of her ability. She's made the cover art, taken the photos and released snippets of a few unheard songs to her Twitter and Instagram page.

The propaganda, polishing every last track to mix and master to perfection. Everything that needed to be done to perfect the album has been done; more times than necessary she might add.

It's just the dreadful wait until it drops that's eating Beca alive with uncomfortable overfilling nerves and right now as she sits at her desk twiddling her thumbs, not really having any reason to be here, she just really wants a hug and to be reassured by a sweet voice telling her that everything is going to be okay.

And of course the only person she wants this from and the only person who would be able to ease Beca's stress is unfortunately two thousand miles away doing God knows what.

Beca _hates_ this.

She really wishes that signing the waiver to a long distance relationship would inform her about the this painful torture she has to experience, now more than anything. Yes, Chloe and her talk daily-even hourly- and that itself has its pulses. But a virtual kiss or hug or cuddle can only comfort someone for so long until real, physical contact is needed like a drug on a withdrawal.

Beca throws her head back with a sigh practically reaching her breaking point for the day. Vibrations across the table from where her phone sits startles her back into position and she quickly swipes to answer the call when Chloe's name lights up on her screen.

_**Thursday November 17, 11:05 AM** _

"Chloe hi!" How relieved she is from getting the call is shown through Beca's voice.

" _I don't know how and I don't know why but something tells me that you're freaking out about the album release."_ Even by just the few seconds of hearing Chloe's angelic voice ring through her ears already cuts the nerves swimming in her body by half. There's a sense of security she feels when talking to Chloe; one that she has discovered from the very first time she heard the time stopping voice.

She smiles into the phone pressed to her ear and gets up to take a walk around her office because sitting still is the last thing she wants to do right now. "I'm really glad you called." She wishes she could verbally explain to Chloe how much she means by this. It feels like matching boulders were just lifted from her shoulders, allowing her to take her first real breath of the day.

" _I'm really glad I called too because who knows what would've happened if I didn't. I can already picture you pulling your hair out by the scalp."_

"Not exactly. It's more like biting my fingernails off and feeling like I'm going to throw up everytime I open my mouth." Beca snickers, hiding the honesty behind it because it is more than the truth. She has always been prone to get nervous but this is something else.

" _Why are you so nervous?"_ Chloe seems truly surprised that Beca is close to having a real life panic attack. Usually when they are around each other, Beca keeps up this ultimate, hard ass exterior that isn't afraid of anything. So ideally when hearing that Beca is at her breaking point, it's not a shock that Chloe is taken back. " _You've proved yourself to get here, Beca. I don't know what I have to do to get this through your mind, maybe tattoo it to my forehead but, babe, you're the most talented person I have met."_ Even if Beca didn't want to believe everything Chloe was saying, she wouldn't be able to because the level of honesty wrapped inside Chloe's voice is at an all time high.

Beca sighs heavy into the phone when she is finally able to take a seat in her desk chair. She starts her sentence off with a "but" but isn't able to spit another word out before Chloe hastily cuts her off.

" _No buts Beca,"_ Chloe asserts sternly and her tone morphs into her stern teacher voice, which Beca finds highly attractive despite her confidence being at rock bottom. " _Here's the deal, tomorrow when the album drops, people all around the world are going to love it because you're an absolute genius when it comes to music and if they don't, obviously they need to get their hearing checked because what you produce is something magical."_

Beca curves a small smile, feeling the swarm of butterflies being uncaged and starting to flap in and out between her ribcage. Chloe's not done though.

" _Then, you're going to get your cute butt down here to Atlanta so we can celebrate properly, millions of miles apart, and spend the entire weekend stress free with swimming and yummy food."_

"I'm pretty sure me meeting your parents is going to be just as stressful, maybe even more than this record," Beca counters with a snort and at least now she is laughing. The album isn't even on her brain anymore, which is a ton of weight lifted off her shoulders and instead, the thought of embarrassing herself around Mr. and Mrs. Beale is a thought she now can't shake away..

" _They're going to love you,"_ Chloe assures sweetly. " _And I love you very, very much. No matter where your album makes it on the charts…..though I see it making number one within a couple days,"_ Chloe adds and Beca laughs out loud. Her girlfriend is so damn optimistic.

But also extremely honest.

"Thank you. I really needed to hear this," Beca straightens to say this as sincere as humanly possible. She feels better after talking to Chloe and not like she is about to have a full out panic attack. "I wish you were here right now. I could use one of your insanely tight hugs."

" _Don't worry. I have a ton saved up for when I see you again."_ Chloe giggles and Beca can just imagine the way her eyes crinkle in that adorable way and that beaming smile that shines brighter than the sun. Sucks though not being able to see it in person.

Only a few more days.

How hard can that be?


	19. New Commitments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you guys are amazing, but that's nothing new here. Only TWO chaps left my friends :( It's kinda sad honestly lol But this has seriously been a journey that I can't thank enough. Everyone who has stuck around for this fic, even when school has me by the throat are troopers and I thank you for every review, favorite and message I receive from you guys on Tumblr :)  
> So with that, I present another chapter!  
> Songs: Trust Nobody by Cashmere Cat feat. Selena Gomez (Highly recommend)
> 
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT NOR THE MUSIC MENTIONED)

_**Wednesday November 23, 9:35 AM (Georgia Time)** _

After what seemed like an eternity of non stop calls from musicians waiting in line for their next album, Beca takes a refreshing step off the plane, now landed safely in _still_ _hot as ever_ Atlanta Georgia, but not without a traffic stopping audience that apparently have been waiting for her outside the gates after accidentally slipping the news about her traveling down to Florida to take a much needed vacation with Chloe on a recent podcast.

Her main goal for the break was to go as unnoticed as possible without bringing much attention to her or Chloe. Even Chloe's family since this is the first time Beca is meeting the Beales and doesn't want cameras in their faces the entire trip. But sneaky little interviewers after a live streamed podcast regarding Diplo's new and chart topping album squeezed it out of her with where and whom she'd be spending the special, up coming Thanksgiving with.

On the plus side, the album was more than a hit once it released late Thursday night, one A.M eastern time. Unexpected, fans went absolutely berserk over the tracks and with the number of downloads so far in the around the world this past week, it landed Beca and Diplo's album at number two on the music charts, with the chance of hitting number one by this time next week at an all time high.

As expected, Beca has blown up more than she could even imagine. Followers amongst different social medias increased by hundreds daily, as well as an over abundance of e-mails that soon she had to send them all to Cassidy since it was very overwhelming for someone who went from a couple emails a day to thousands. Rumors went around that Beca is on the line up of becoming a Grammy winning music producer by the time she releases her next project.

And with her fame buzzing around her like a cloud of smoke, she should've expected the same to happen to Chloe as she walks down the runways of the airport and sees her girlfriend dressed uncover to avoid any recognition from others until they're sharing equally beaming smiles from across the distance when their eyes meet.

For the most part, Chloe's whereabouts and getting noticed out in public doesn't exceed to the level that Beca has to deal with-though their trip to Los Angeles was a whole other story. But other than a few spottings and recognitions of who she is and who she is dating, Chloe lives on the lighter side of Beca's hectic life-which _that_ she is the most thankful for.

Personally, she understands the new life she has brought on Chloe and going from unnoticed to having your face blown up in magazines and talk shows, she gets that it could be hard to handle. Hell, it's still a hard thing to cope with for herself. She isn't use to the attention, the screaming fans worshiping at her feet and the new role model status she has under her belt now. Honestly, it's surprising she hasn't had a mental breakdown or at the very least, an anxiety attack.

Today though is a little different since most of the attention they get is when they're together and considering that Beca accidentally slipped they would be traveling to Florida (thankfully _where_ in Florida was left unknown) for the Thanksgiving weekend, people connected the dots that she'd be arriving at Hartsfield with a certain redhead by her side. How they knew what time exactly was borderline creepy and something she doesn't understand how they found out but she guesses that's a life of being a celebrity nowadays.

And like a popular, collectible action figure that is a bookshelf must, or a diamond worth millions, everyone and she means _everyone_ wants to take a shot of this highly anticipated arrival of America's sweethearts.

Beca blocks out majority of everything and everyone around her when catching those familiar icy blue eyes as she pretty much jogs her way over to where Chloe is practically bouncing on the heels of her feet with anticipation, arms held out and has Beca's name written all over in the empty space. Eventually making it there, they hook perfectly around Beca's frame to pull her in as close as possible and she's once again taking in a whiff of that intoxicating strawberry shampoo and watermelon body wash that always has her head spinning like a couple of teapots on an amusement park ride.

Hugs from Chloe never get old Beca concludes as they hold onto each other in the smack middle of the airport like their lives depended on it. Hugs from Chloe are always very tight and warm and no matter what, she always digs her face into the space where Beca's shoulder meets the side of her neck to place a few lingering kisses along the area, just enough to convince Beca that this is really happening and she's not in any way shape or form daydreaming.

"I missed you." The vibration from Chloe's voice tickles the outer skin on Beca's neck before she moves her face away and drops a gut clenching "welcome back" kiss over Beca's lips.

Kissing Chloe also never gets old but that's nothing really new. If Beca could, she'd spend the rest of her existence kissing the girl.

Gathering herself from not swooning over and gaining the strength back in her knees, "I missed you too," Beca reciprocates this greeting through the kiss and both of their growing smiles towards the words make their teeth start to scrape together.

Despite having only around two weeks- maybe even more- Beca was counting down this visit by the millisecond to finally be able to see Chloe like she was eight again, and waiting for the night Santa would come and drop presents off at her house.

It never gets old either.

Seeing Chloe for the first time in however long it took. It's like….taking a deep fresh breath of air after being trapped underwater for what felt like years and finally being able to let your lungs rise and collapse at a normal pace again.

Seeing Chloe was like a needed, breath of fresh air and Beca just couldn't for the life of her get enough of this girl.

Crowds are drawn towards the interaction as they get lost in the moment, forgetting that there are in fact others around them, and it's not until Beca catches the flashes of cameras through her closed eyelids while she gets refamiliar with her girlfriend's lips that she takes ahold of Chloe's hand and politely maneuvers through the airport to leave before even more attention is attracted towards them.

" _Beca! Congrats on the album reaching number one in the world!"_ Beca smiles appreciative at the kind words and mouths a "thank you" to the guy who said this. The cheering and flood of unanswered questions from other paparazzis make it impossible to be heard, even with the shoved microphones getting shoved into Beca's face.

" _Anything planned yet? Rumors are going around about a JoJo comeback? You behind any of that?"_

" _Going to Florida? What's in Florida?"_

" _When are you two going to get married?"_ Beca can't help but snicker at this comment as she squeezes her way pass the crowds, hand firmly entwined with Chloe's. Sometimes, she thinks that her fans are more eager to wife them up than themselves. 

"Okay guys, you've had your chance to bombard the superstar with questions, it's my turn to steal her away," Chloe giggles and moves in front. Beca is actually lifted Chloe isn't freaking out with the camera's, attention and lack of space to even breathe. Again, this isn't an easy thing to handle and definitely was a few steps up since the last time they were together.

Surprisingly, they keep their image pretty much on the downlow-minus the few paparazzis- but for the most part, they make it out to Chloe's truck without being noticed _too_ much.

_Thank God._

When getting there, Chloe being the chivalrous and A-one girlfriend that she really is takes Beca's bags for her and throws them in the trunk of the bed to join her own. Peeking inside and not even a second before her face is being washed with smelly poultry and salvia, Tank attacks Beca with another welcome back kiss, along with a few more "I missed you" licks in the process while she tries to squirm away.

"Hey buddy," Beca laughs though extremely disgusted and twists her head in every direction to avoid the worst of Tank's long strokes. "I missed you too." His excitement calms down a bit once Chloe gets in the driver seat and orders him to sit back down over a neatly placed blanket and a few organized pillows in the back seat. Beca is honestly surprised to see that the horse of the dog was even able to fit as snug as he is right now, truck or no truck.

"Tank loves the beach, so I thought it'd be a good weekend for him to let him roam Tampa," Chloe casually says, smiling at Beca before swinging an arm to the back and rubbing the spot behind Tank's ear that makes one of his legs start to bounce. Beca sits mesmerized by the interaction, knowing her love for these two are out of this world.

And somewhere along the lines of her total admiration after Chloe swipes her aviators down to her eyes and apparently, starts the car because her long (longer than the last time and also a shade darker) hair flows majestically through the wind from where the window is now rolled down and explains to Beca that they're actually driving to Tampa to meet her parents at the beach house rather than the original plan.

Hearing this catches Beca attention as she whips herself out of awe, shaking her head. "Wait... _now_?" she asks when referring to the short notice about this sudden mini roadtrip. Any other day it would've been perfectly okay and a road trip with Chloe and the newly added member, Tank, is destined to be a trip to remember.

But for today, it gives Beca a total of six full hours to try and not flip the fuck out about meeting her girlfriend's parents for the first time when before she would've had the entire night until next morning to think of all the ways to make a damn good impression as they were planning on leaving tomorrow.

"Mother might or might not be a little too eager to meet a certain DJ that has stolen her daughter's heart," Chloe answers cautiously and Beca for her part attempts to keep her breathing at bay and her actions in check because _holy shit_ she is about to meet Chloe's mom _._ "I hope that's okay; I brought your favorite snacks and made a _killer_ playlist for the drive."

True to her word, Chloe connects her iPhone to the aux cord in her truck before a playlist consisting of bubble gum pop music and a brand new album by the one and only infamous Diplo starts blaring through the side speakers, hitting Beca all at once with the music she created herself. Chloe doesn't miss a beat before she's belting the lyrics at the top of her lungs and Beca falls straight back into the black hole of admiration because her girlfriend is just one in a million.

Soon, Beca joins in on the singing with a roll to her eyes because it's contagious and Chloe does this thing where she pouts her big blue eyes in the direction of Beca, waiting patiently and she just doesn't have the power or heart to say no. They travel throughout Atlanta, singing along to whatever pops up on Chloe's iPhone and about an hour into the trip, Beca can't help but get a bit restless. Road trips were never something she truly enjoyed; she hated sitting down for long periods of time and no matter, always seemed to get a little car sick, so her becoming bored isn't much of a shocker.

Wanting to waste more of the next five hours and not blow out her vocal cords by singing, Beca turns down the music on the radio and when she does, Chloe shoots her a glare mid sentence the she's currently singing, acting like Beca just committed the world's biggest crime. "You know, if we actually left tomorrow morning... _when we planned…_ I'd be kissing you right now," She brags, kinda sorta. If she had a choice, her mouth wouldn't be talking; it'd be doing something else that would teeter between inappropriate and acceptable. 

"Oh is that so?" Chloe arches a single brow and it tugs a wry smirk up with it. Beca nods her head up and down against the headrest, her own smirk brightening up and she even bites her bottom lip in a playful way that is reciprocated.

Chloe just hums amused at this; Beca can see though she is trying to be secretive of finding a place to possibly pullover but comes out with it being impossible since they're currently motionless on the highway stuck in traffic that looks to be caused by roadwork.

She continues though, but not daring to make eye contact with Beca and keeps her focus on the road ahead, "I might not be able to kiss you right now, but I can think of another thing that I've wanted to do to you since the moment I left L.A. a couple weeks back." There's a kittenish tone to Chloe's voice but also, there's a thick layer of sultry that makes Beca wonder what possibly Chloe could be suggesting here.

Music smoothly transitions to a recent song released by Selena, "Trust Nobody" and she's just about to ask what this so called "other thing" they could be doing was exactly but not before the right hand of Chloe's that's not operating the steering wheel detaches from her's and makes a direct route to the area in between her legs. One thing happens after another; Beca jumps as a reflex not fully expecting such movement out in public and her breathing stalls as she watches Chloe's hand descend down her stomach, all the way until it's no longer in sight after unbuckling Beca's belt that's connected around the loops of her denim shorts and wastes no time before slipping under that flimsy piece of lace underneath. There's no teasing; no testing the waters.

Chloe just _goes_ for it.

And in all honesty, Beca doesn't know whether to be appalled that they're doing this in front of Tank, who is sleeping peacefully in the backseat, or be extremely turned on due the painful withdrawal away from her girlfriend and finally being able to feel close to Chloe again.

Plus, it is a no brainer that Chloe's talent when it comes to her fingers is impeccable after memorable experiences, but what's new?

Barely paying attention to where her hand is and how Beca instantly reacts with her head lolling back into the headrest, Chloe starts off casually, "how's work and living the life after dropping this year's best album?" Beca is slapped with shock that Chloe even has the audacity to ask a question while her hand is hidden deep inside her shorts, performing the most inappropriate actions one could possibly think of and expects that Beca has the willpower to actually keep up a casual conversation.

She tries though, after a series of deep breaths; in through the nose, easy out the mouth while fingers work in motions of tight circles over her now throbbing core. "It's…. _fine_." Is all she can manage to get out but even with those two breathless words, she is giving herself kudos and an impressed pat on the back. She grips at the armrests of the truck on either sides of her and gradually let's her eyes fall shut as the heat boils inside. Lips parted, she begins to feel the pressure in her lower stomach start to tighten and all of a sudden it's really fucking hot inside this truck.

Blindly continuing her motions, Chloe hums a pleased but highly malicious sigh that only adds to Beca's building pressure. "And your next project is with Jojo?"

Beca nods her head frantically, about ready to bite off her bottom lip with the way Chloe's fingers are moving, playing her like a thumb stick on a gaming controller. Really, a conversation is the last thing on her mind right now as she mentally begs her body not to explode just yet.

"That's nice," Chloe hums again and Beca can practically hear the smile that comes with it without even looking. "You're pretty great at making music, I must say. But you know what you're really good at?" Beca makes the courageous decision to peek open her eyes to witness Chloe chewing in her bottom lip in a way that is more than tempting and in all forms naughty-which then causes Beca to immediately reshut her eyes with a tiny groan.

She mutters something-she thinks-at the question and this enough for Chloe to continue with talking, as well as keeping up her precise movements between Beca's thighs.

"You're really good at _fucking_ me," There's a sharp emphasis to the curse word and Beca is certain Chloe is using this secret kink of her's as a weapon.

And guess what? It's fucking working.

Nothing in the entire world is hotter than her girlfriend dropping the f-bomb, or any curse word as a matter of fact and adding cursing to the equation that technically Chloe is getting her off in public is almost too much for Beca to handle. Dirty, dirty move, Beale.

" _God_ , I've wanted to do this the second I stepped foot on that plane to Georgia." Chloe really needs to stop talking right now because Beca is on her last limb with how straight up coquettish her tone has an affect on her body.

A whine of a moan escapes after being trapped for as long as Beca can remember and she lifts up her right leg to give Chloe better access, which she immediately dives right in. Also, this change in position allows her to grind her hips desperately in a steady rhythm with Chloe's fingers. And then she is panting uncontrollably as Chloe applies more pressure to her rapidly swelling nerves.

" _Jesus….fuck, Chloe.."_ Beca's sentence gets swallowed up by another moan-this one more throaty- cutting it short when Chloe switches her motions to dip her fingers inside and keeping up her pace to teeter Beca off the edge. In and out, in and out Beca attempts to match the pace of Chloe's motions but all she can do is whimper absolute nonsense until her brink is reach with one strong final stroke.

All the air in Beca's body is sucked out almost instantly before her body twists and jerks violently against Chloe's hand while the fingers inside don't even dare to slow down, more than amused by the cry of release emitted from Beca's lungs with a playful giggle. Beca removes her hand from one of the armrests that she has been deathly gripping at and clasps it onto Chloe's forearm to stop her from pushing any longer when her core becomes ultra sensitive to handle any type of contact.

When the wave of ecstasy passed and Chloe eased down Beca's high, "Baby, you're so hot," Chloe purs kittenish. Basically, Beca's breathing is pretty much shit right now as she is trying to return all the oxygen back into her body after the intensity of the orgasm she just had but can hear crystal clear the amusement in Chloe's voice. She flinches and moans a sharp cry when Chloe thrusts her fingers purposely back inside her burning core, and if she wasn't on the verge of passing out right now, she'd give Chloe one Hell of a scowl.

It takes a while to adjust to the sunlight after having her eyes sealed shut for so long but when they do, Beca can see Chloe biting her lip to keep an already large forming smirk from growing any larger. With the absence of the aviators Chloe is wearing since now they rest on top of her head, those blue eyes are darker than normal, yet still almost blinding to look at and it's crazy to Beca how someone so innocent can be dressed as the devil in disguise.

"You're….trouble." Beca says this through a pant, a breathless wheeze following and she tosses Chloe a lazy smile before crashing her head back into the headrest of the seat. Once she feels that Chloe won't tease her anymore, she let's go of her girlfriend's forearms and drags that same hand through her hair, pushing all of it out of her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chloe pulls out this facade card and plays coy with one of her innocent, insanely adorable smiles that looks as if she hadn't just got done-excuse the language- _fucking_ Beca senselessly in the passenger seat of her truck.

Chloe is gentle when retracting her hand out from Beca's shorts, unlike the time before and two, glistening digits are out in the open for Beca to see but not for long until they are shoved slowly into Chloe's mouth to suck them clean. Already starting to feel the heat build up inside again while hypnotized by watching Chloe purposely suck her own taste off her fingers at a painfully slow speed, Beca closes her mouth from where it has gaped open when distracted by the scene.

"I'm so getting you back," Beca threatens under a weak but promising smirk and her breathing falls back into a steady rate. She cranks up the air conditioning and positions it directly towards her face because now (no thanks to Chloe) she feels like she's is trapped in a sauna with a thin layer of sweat covering the skin. Her legs are tingling, the bouncing hormones in her body are now on another level with need and the underwear she is currently sitting in and has to for the next five hours of this trip are basically destroyed.

Hands down though, best road trip she has ever been on. Maybe with Chloe she'll start to enjoy them more, see what good they bring to the table.

Pulling out her middle finger from her lips with an audible "pop," Chloe gives Beca a challenging grin; a smile that's so sexy and mysterious all at the same time that Beca almost falls apart just staring at it. The newly clean hand drops to the inside of Beca's thigh to rest and with a simple shrug to the shoulders,

"I'm counting on it."

* * *

_**Wednesday November 23, 4:35 PM** _

Florida is ten times hotter and more humid than Georgia could ever be, Beca gathers.

And for proof, just imagine the buckets of sweat her forehead, back, arms legs and entire body are producing and that should be more than enough evidence.

The road trip wasn't nearly as bad as Beca expected, due to obvious reasons that should now not be mentioned since she is in fact sharing the same vicinity as Chloe's parents. Whether it was singing in the most obnoxious ways out the window, or talking about whatever came to mind, the both of them found ways to keep themselves entertained for the dreadful six hours.

Eventually when they do pull up to the bleach white house, Beca is at a lost for words when she gets slapped in the face by how enormous it is. By this, Chloe's beach house is something else and it actually takes a while for Beca to snap out of her admiration towards the beach and house to pay attention to the tips Chloe has been giving her the past hour to impress her parents, not that Beca is worried or anything.

No, that'd be silly.

Beca is plain out shitting her pants waiting to meet the Beale's.

Why? Funny you may ask. Beca has absolutely no idea why she is so nervous. Maybe it is because she doesn't want to screw up the best damn thing she has in her life right now. Also, a bond with her girlfriend's parents and siblings is a literal _must_ or the relationship was destined to be doomed, or so she thinks. Whatever. She just really needs to have Chloe's parents like her, at the least tolerate and by how her stomach is doing somersaults and not in the good way that Chloe usually makes her feel is a clear sign that this can either go really well, or really fucking bad.

At least the freshly cut grass and smell of salt water radiating off from the ocean calms Beca in a way. The area is deserted, with hardly no neighbors unless you count the other beach house about a mile away and because of this, the scenery of the place is relaxing. Maybe Florida ain't too bad after all, at least Tampa that is. She doesn't understand why this state gets such a bad rep.

"You'll be fine," Chloe's gentle voice eases Beca a bit, but not nearly as much as it should.

Chloe comes up behind Beca after grabbing her own duffle bags from the trunk and swoops her arms around Beca's waist from behind after gently massaging tensed shoulders. Beca thought that she had been keeping her nerves to a minimum but she guessed wrong.

"Show them the Beca Mitchell I fell in love with, not the international, DJ sensation that is featured on every music site known to man. They'll love you, I promise." With loving big blue eyes and a tender kiss, Beca feels like she is just going to float away.

And the thing about promises coming from Chloe Beale, never are they wrong or broken. So, that's why Beca gives a shaky nod as her palms sweat into the straps of her bags when reaching down to pick them up and follows Chloe in tow through the glass front doors of the beach house.

Silence floods the house at first except for the faint sound of music playing from what sounds like the backyard. It's old school rock, maybe some Guns and Roses if Beca listens carefully, which she is already starting to dig. Parents with a good taste in music, check.

"Mom! Dad!" Chloe yells in hope to signal their arrival to her family but comes out with no response back. Tank follows closely, more so around Beca and his familiar, horse like presence is greatly appreciated due to everything around the house being brand new. Looking around for anybody and into each individual room that happens to be empty, Chloe jumps to a conclusion. "They must be out back."

Beca then follows some more, legs shaking in her high top converse she is wearing while she silently goes over thoughtfully planned out scripts in her head to introduce herself. She also takes in the house; the shimmer of the wooden tiles, the special ocean antics and the overly blinding white furniture and decorations.

Guess she understands now where Aubrey and Chloe's love for white came from. Seriously, walking into both houses felt like taking a first step into heaven.

"This place is really nice," Beca breathes, the beauty of the place the deeper they walk inside really taking her for a whirl.

And here she thought her sweet size apartment back in Los Angeles was nice.

"Thanks!" Chloe smiles bright and wide over her shoulder. "It's pretty much ancient but my parents have been doing a good job keeping it tidy." Beca walks carefully behind Chloe, taking in the marble counter tops in the kitchen and exploring every inch of the beach house she can find. Her eyes double in size when Chloe brings her to the "back yard" where normally a lawn of green and maybe a newly grown garden are placed but instead, Beca is greeted by the cerulean blue of the Goddamn Atlantic Ocean.

_Holy shit._

"Oh wow." If Beca thought the inside of the house was impressive, the view out back almost puts her into a coma. She honestly doesn't understand why Florida gets such a bad rep because with what she is looking at right now, this view is almost as great as California's.

 _Almost_.

"Oh yay! My brothers are here and set up the jet skis!" Chloe claps excitedly and points out to the water where two (expensive) looking jet skis float but alone in the distance, with no presence of her brothers. There are multiple things wrong with Chloe expecting Beca to get on one of those death, metal contraptions, but one of them is _not_ being able to take in all the glory of seeing Chloe in a bikini.

 _That_ , is something Beca could stare at all day, exactly like how she is doing right now because apparently under that navy blue tank top and pair of white jean shorts was a matching turquoise bathing suit hidden underneath that Chloe has nonchalantly stripped down to.

"Oh my...God," Beca chokes when Chloe is fully undressed and is sporting the best damn bikini Beca has ever had the honor of seeing. Yes, Beca has already seen Chloe in far less clothes and is no stranger when it comes to those Godly curves. But that doesn't mean it doesn't take her breath away every time she is greeted by them.

Thank you yoga.

Thank you running.

And thank you God.

Chloe shoots Beca a wink when seeing her outstretched eyes roaming over her frame and folds her clothes before placing them in a pile on the back porch's steps. Of course anytime Chloe is half dressed, Beca is unable to tear her eyes away and she stares and stares without a shame, going over each curve and defined muscle lines. Literally, everything about Chloe is hot; her long muscular legs, her glowing golden skin, her taut stomach muscles that run just beneath her perfectly plump and perfectly sculpted breast-

"Beca?"

Beca's attention is brought back to life by the sound of Chloe's voice and when her eyes start to focus, Chloe is staring confused at her, arching a leery brow and clearly waiting for a response to which Beca has no idea what to say.

"Sorry," Beca clears her throat into her fist, trying to build back her cool despite her body feeling like she just jumped into a pool of molten lava. Plus, it's really hard to focus on anything with Chloe standing at an arm's reach only wearing a two piece bikini that is flaunting everything good. Truthfully, it's quite distracting. "I think I just blacked out from your hotness." Beca has never been so quick and honest to say something.

Chloe rolls her eyes with a playful smile and does this slow motion hair flip that doesn't help Beca's current situation. "Well snap out of it. Mom, nine o'clock."

This most definitely snaps Beca out of it and it isn't because Tank is now barking excitedly to meet the newly arriving guest. Glancing in the general direction of where Chloe calculated, the first blur of red she catches is a slightly older looking version of Chloe, with the same long, auburn hair and sun kissed skin, wearing a faded pair of jean shorts and a white t-shirt that's acquainted with sunglasses. She's alone for the most part except Tank at her ankles and keeps walking over to the couple determined with a smile that looks like an exact duplicate of Chloe's.

Beca exhales a breath of air.

Here goes nothing.

"Hey mom!" Chloe takes the first encounter and swoops her mom into a hug as she approaches.

"Chloe dear, I've missed you so much!" Her mother reciprocates the excitement and the hug lasts longer than a couple of seconds as they get re-familiar with each other. Beca rocks awkwardly on the heels of her feet, hands hooked behind her back as she plays unknown bystander while watching the mother and daughter interaction. "You need to visit more! Are you doing okay? Eating well? Is Aubrey taking good care of you? Money good? School?"

Chloe giggles at all the concerned motherly questions and shakes them all off with five exasperated yes's. Then she connects her hand with Beca's when remembering the added presence, threading their closest fingers together and gestures with the other.

_Oh no._

"Mom, this is Beca. My girlfriend," Chloe introduces with a proud smile and Beca feels like her heart is about to leap from her chest. Why is she so damn nervous? Chloe's mom looks as innocent as innocent can get.

Heart racing and already feeling her tongue start to knot without even doing the talking, Beca braces herself for the inevitable. With one last mental pep talk, Beca takes a shaky deep breath and outstretches her hand for Chloe's mom to shake it. "Hi, its nice to meet yo-"

Without so much of a warning that she was seconds away from being manhandled, Beca gets pulled straight into a tight hug and detached from her girlfriend's grip. "It's so very nice to finally meet you!" Chloe's mom squeezes even tighter Beca thinks as it's getting to the point where it's hard to breathe. "Im Charlotte. Chloe here has told me lots about you. Congratulations on the album by the way."

When Beca bounces back from the hug after being released, she smooths out her shirt and awkwardly chuckles as the nerves just seem to not be fading away. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you too." She looks over to Chloe and gets a reassuring wink that's a sign and squeeze to their reconnected hands that everything was going better than perfect.

The next flash of red Beca catches comes in a pair: an extremely tall, football player body built pair that each have vibrant auburn hair similar to Chloe's and her mother's. Next thing is they charge up to Chloe, each on either side of the redhead and aggressively envelope her in a double bear hug that at first startles her.

"Hey boys!" Chloe squeals excitedly when her brothers, Beca concludes, lift her up from the ground and swings her around with equal joy.

"Missed you, Chlo." The taller boy and a slightly older out of the two brothers says when he drops Chloe back to her feet and reaches in for a more calmer hug. The other brother agrees and waits his turn to give Chloe a proper hug as well.

"I missed you guys two! How are the girls?" Chloe tears away from the embrace and Beca can now get a good look at all three and didn't even need to know them to pinpoint that they are related. Catching the added presence, both boys freeze and physically gawk at Beca with the look of starstruck written all over.

Catching what her brothers stopped so deliberately to look at and following their line of sight to a tiny brunette standing as awkward as ever, "Oh! This is Beca, my very talented girlfriend. Beca, this is Chris and Clay, my loser brothers."

Only briefing swooning at the added description, Beca extends out a hand again to shake (she should've been prepared to be smothered by a hug from the both of them) and tells each brother it's nice to finally meet while she drowns in their individual college and tie die bro tanks.

Chris, the older one, has more of a beard compared to Clay, who only has some grubble on his chin and along his jaw bone. Freckles around the nose are shared between each boy, Chloe not so much. All three have the same icy blue eyes; Chloe's still stands out like a sore thumb compared to all of them but equally, they all share that darker type of red hair and God given skin people would kill for.

And can she talk about body physique really quick because _Goddamn,_ do all the Beale's have insanely great bodies and insanely good looks?

If she hadn't known any better, she'd think they all popped out of the womb with a six pack.

" _Holy shit,_ I can't believe I just touched you!" Chris gushes and Beca laughs because he is at least a thirty something year old, grown man, squealing like a fangirl over a celebrity. "Let me tell yah that my wife is already waiting by the phone for when tickets go on sale for the Diplo tour."

Amazed by the dedication and how big of fans Chloe's family are, "oh wow." She chuckles, eyes stretching wide, not really knowing what to say or do since receiving complements always makes her feel uncomfortable. "We haven't even announced a tour or even dates and what not." Plus, she doesn't even know if she'll be joining Diplo on tour with all the music and time she has to put towards a new upcoming album in the making. That by itself is a lot on her plate and to add a world tour?

Goodbye social life or hell, any life out of the realm of the music industry.

"I know but when they do, I guarantee she'll be the first to purchase them!" Chris gloats in a charming smile that Beca can't help but see Chloe in.

"Psh, don't be crazy. When the time comes, there will be no paying for you guys," Beca offers with a smirk and Chris, Clay and Charlotte all light up in a way that makes her feel like she just told the three of them the world's greatest news.

"Can you sign my phone case? Congrats on the album by the way. So many _bangers_ ," Clay changes the entire subject while whipping out his phone from his pocket and surprisingly has a sharpie on him. Happily taking the marker and giving her thanks, Beca signs her initials over the plastic before Chris does the exact same thing with his.

Later after Chris, Clay and Charlotte spurge out all the questions that Beca can assume they planned all week to ask, she finds out that Chris has been married for two months and is going stronger than ever with his high school girlfriend, Rachel. Clay is not married, but has been dating a girl for a little over a year and plans on popping the question sometime soon.

Conversations flow easily; Beca chats casually about her family and Stacie and she gets to know Chloe's side a little bit better than what she already knows. Music is barely even brought up, which is greatly applicators because time here is suppose to he vacation time. Plus, she wants to know more of Chloe's side of the family, not what goes on through the TV or radio.

One last person gets added to their meet and greet and Beca doesn't even have to turn around to know it's Chloe's dad. Just the aroma shifts and she all of a sudden wishes that she had a shell so she could shrink up inside to avoid what is about to come next. Feeling two strong hands grasp either sides of her shoulders, she mentally prepares herself before facing a tall man whose red hair is now beginning to fade but nevertheless still looks good for his age.

"Hi, I uh….I'm Beca Mitchell. Chloe's girlfriend," Beca greets formally and for the first time since she hasn't really met any significant other's parents before is about ready to piss her pants from fear. Out of all three other encounters with Chloe's siblings and mother, they all offered her an immediate smile along with a friendly hug, much to her dismay.

Not Chloe's dad though.

All he is doing is eyeing her suspiciously, arms crossed above his chest and this time, not even shaking her outstretched hand, which only piles on the awkwardness that is eating Beca alive.

"I'm not going to read in an upcoming TMZ video that you do coke or hang out at strip clubs for a living right?" He finally speaks, his deep voice matching his height and Beca just blinks because like what is that suppose to mean? "No sextapes or leaked photos?"

Chloe gasps loudly and smacks her father in the stomach and Beca stands there dumbfounded, trying to figure out if he is joking or not but by the look of pure seriousness tells her he's not. "Daddy!"

"I'm just kidding, Chloe!" _Oh thank God._ His stone cold face breaks into a large smile, emitting a deep laughter that rumbles the air while Beca thinks she is too scared to move right now. What the fuck just happened? "I'm Rick. It's an honor to finally meet you, Beca. I've heard so much." Then Beca gets swept up into that familiar hug, popping Beca's personal boundaries bubble once again and this time, she thanks her lucky star that it isn't a strangling.

"How bout we set you up in a room and show you around the beach house?" Charlotte offers while taking her husband's hand to lead the way back inside. She trails on about setting up in Chloe's room but half of it goes in one ear, out the other for Beca.

"My dad likes you," Chloe whispers and Beca jumps at the voice because she thinks she might have blacked out for a second due to fear. "He never hugs anybody."

"That' was the scariest thing I've ever had to do," Beca rushes to admit, releasing a long breath that she had no idea she was keeping inside. "They like me though?" Beca echoes as a question and can't help but smile triumphantly. The hard part is finally over. " _Holy shit_ they like me."

"They sure do, babe, just like I said they would because you my dear are perfect." Leaning in and placing a lingering kiss over Beca's cheek, Chloe takes her hand and pulls her towards the doors where her family went inside. "Come on. I have lots planned for you."

And _duh_ , Beca follows Chloe without a fight after her paralysis wears off because now she is excited.

* * *

_**Wednesday November 23, 6:30 PM** _

When first making it to the beach house, Beca at least prepared for sometime to adjust to the weather, the extra humidity and stay as dry as possible, to say the least. But no. Not with a girlfriend who apparently is part fish after only an hour on shore before Beca gets thrown into a bikini, a super sized life jacket and is now crossing her fingers that she won't drown in the middle of the ocean as for the life of her, clings every limb around Chloe's body while she operates the facinest jet ski Beca has ever seen.

After hitting top speed while crashing into waves coming in and performing multiple amounts of doughnuts, Chloe refers to, where she almost got thrown off a handful amount of times, or at least felt the boat start to tip, Beca gets driven back into shore where she practically kisses the sand when her feet hit the heat.

"You're so dramatic." Chloe, who is still straddling the jet ski out in the ocean in a close enough distance to catch Beca's actions but too far away not to yell. She sways over the waves, fixing her hair up into a high bun and throws Beca one of those smirks that only adds to her level of sexiness.

She may have almost died on the metal contraption and felt more fish touch her feet than she would have liked but minus all those, watching Chloe drive like a total badass from behind outweighed all the negatives. From the way she drove a jet ski; all the fancy tricks, impressive wheelies and stunts are only a plus and the way every muscle in her back, arms and legs basically glowed under the sunset's glow.

Lord have mercy on Beca's soul because all of this is just way too much to handle.

"You'd think that someone who lives in California would somewhat enjoy the ocean and all it's beauty. If I didn't know you I'd think you were a cat," Chloe continues to joke while combing her fingers through damp hair before placing it back into a bun. Rolling her eyes, Beca twists over to her butt and Tank comes trotting in soon after to plop down next her, hitting her senses with wet dog and who knows what else.

"I'll remind you that I lived in Portland Oregon for majority of my life and with that, my fear of water, especially water with sharks in it makes sense," Beca retorts out of breath and stands up from where she was molded into the sand after rubbing Tank behind the ears. She brushes off all the bits and pieces and starts fixing her own hair now that the wind and ocean destroyed everything up top. "I can't believe you got me on that thing."

"It wasn't too hard, I must say. I think your head was somewhere else and by somewhere else, I mean my chest." Chloe giggles, unzipping her lifejacket to prove a valid point because even with the distance and like a magnet, Beca's eyes fall to that familiar turquoise color and everything else she says is hazy. "Plus, I just really wanted to get you wet."

With all the strength left in her body, Beca snaps her eyes off Chloe's chest just in time to see the filthiest smile across the redhead's mouth, so filthy that it makes her shrivel up. About ready to say something back, another jet ski flies into shore right next to where Chloe is parked.

Knowing it is Chris by his ESPN professional jet skiing skills, a lot similar to his sister's, he turns off the ski and cups his hands around his mouth ready to holler. "You wanna ride?!" Beca at first didn't think he was talking to her because of her lack of experience on one of those things but with no one around and the finger pointing in her direction for clarification, she starts to stutter.

"I-I….what?" If he thinks she is going to get on that thing _alone,_ he must be tripping. It was hard enough to ride with Chloe. She is a person who is safe on land and land only. With her luck, she'd tip the jet ski over and get eaten by all sorts of fish, or maybe even an octopus. "No. Absolutely not."

"Oh come on!" Chris whines, like full on Beca just told a five year old "no" at a candy store while Chloe gives off her mastered kicked, puppy dog pout with her lip jutted out. Was Chris Chloe's older or younger brother again? "You gotta try it at least once! Go out with Chlo!"

"Yeah, come out with me Becs!" Chloe added, waving Beca over to where Chris is now anchoring the ride to the ocean shore so it doesn't float away.

If Beca was a window, she'd be covered with yolk by how much she was getting teamed up and egged on when her life is on the line operating one of those things. At the most, she has driven a car, but everyone does eventually, at least once. Growing up, she had a bike but very rarely used it since she lived like a vampire and anything outdoors was a big no. She never four wheeled when her family use to go camping and actually she barely even camped when they asked her to go as well. At amusement parks, she rode passenger seat whenever Stacie forced them to ride the go karts, then she twisted her ankle on roller blades and broke her arm when trying to ride a long. Needless to say, Beca operating any sort of machinery has doom written all over it.

"It will turn me on if you do," Chloe sings this out loud and Beca feels instant prickles along her skin. Maybe it was because of the extreme coldness from the water, or maybe it was because Chloe is giving her "the eyes" and has that sultry tint to her voice that is eating Beca from the inside out.

No verbal response comes next as Beca just stands there paralyzed, eyeing the jet ski now rocking above the waves without Chris sitting up top. She mutes out the appalled gasps from Chris who is claiming that they need to keep it in their pants and fights this inner battle with not wanting and wanting to get on.

"This jet ski isn't the only thing I want you to ride, baby," Chloe flirts and the last straw Chris had left to stay calm was pulled at what his sister is insinuating, causing him to leave the couple before, in his words, goes at it on shore. Beca stands there frozen, still in the same damn pickle she has been in for what seemed like years.

Her brain tells her no; to not get on because 1. She has no idea what she is doing and can swim _at best_ at a mediocre level-not taking in the fact that she can do this in a seven foot pool and not the ocean. 2. Don't get her started on how to even start the jet ski, or which button is which.

However, her gut (more so the area in between her legs) tells her to hop right on board and obey anything that Chloe has to say because she is weak and if Stacie was here, she'd call Beca whipped. But Chloe is very persuasive and is flaunting Beca everything good underneath that life jacket, baiting her to come over and do something about it.

So, doing what she usually does and thinks with her vagina, she hops right on board to straddle the jet ski and prays that driving this thing is as easy as driving a car. Curse her hormones for out beating her conscious.

* * *

_**Wednesday November 24 12:03 AM** _

" _My little munchkin! I miss you so much!"_

Beca cringes at the overly excited and equally as loud greeting from her friend through the phone as she pops a squat on shore of the beach. Thinking that she'd be physically and emotionally exhausted from traveling the entire ocean on a jet ski and meeting all of Chloe's family yesterday, Beca has been the exact opposite and is wired with endless adrenaline.

So, figuring that she should probably check in with Stacie to let her know that she made it to Florida safely, she dialed her friend up and decided to take a peaceful walk along the beach since it was the perfect temperature outside with not a cloud in sight.

Rolling her eyes at the level of dramatics produced by Stacie, "I've only been gone a day. You saw me yesterday morning, I might add."

" _Regardless of when you left, I still miss you like you've been gone for a billion years."_

Beca snickers, shaking her head, "You're such a dork."

" _And you love me."_ Stacie clicks her tongue and Beca can visually see the puff in her chest because she knows damn well she's right.

"Whatever," Beca settles with a smirk, thumbs picking up small clumps of sand and rubbing it together until fully dissolved. "What are you doing?"

" _Just got done talking to Aubrey before we had to call it goodnight so she could get some sleep. I guess her family has lots planned for Thanksgiving."_

"She flew back to North Carolina right?"

" _Yep. Staying there till Saturday night and then she's flying back to Atlanta."_

"How are you two by the way? Haven't talked much about your lady love since that one day you almost ruined the entire thing," Beca snorts a laugh with a full memory of Aubrey _freaking_ Posen contacting her for relationship advice.

That is a day Beca will remember forever; she even documented it on a calendar in her phone.

" _Really, really good. Minus my little freak out, our relationship has only been getting stronger, surprisingly,"_ Stacie gushed and Beca could feel the megawatt smile even through the phone. Being tied down wasn't something she saw when Stacie was in the picture and still even has a hard time now believing it now but regardless, she is happy that Stacie has found someone who reciprocates the feeling.

"I'm glad, Stace." Beca smiled, stretching out her legs in the sand and positioning her phone between her shoulder and cheek so she could lean back on her hands.

" _How's Florida and my favorite ginger? Met all the other gingers? Please tell me that at least one of them holds the ideal stereotype of a redhead?"_

Beca laughs, shaking her head at Stacie's obsession with the color of red hair. "Negative chief. They're all super fucking attractive and look like they've been plucked straight from Teen Beach magazine." Stacie huffs, or grumbles under her breath something incoherent. It was blunt, it was honest and everything couldn't be more true.

Chloe and all her beauty and charm is a splitting image of her mother's, Charlotte, and even had moments where her eyes glimmered like her father's-though his color is closer to green than blue. Chris and Clay are basically Hollister models so overall, Beca can declare that she is trapped in a beach house with the most warming, naturally attractive, sweetest group of redheads who hold nothing to back up the pale skin, soulless stereotype that was mustered up from God knows who.

They talk some more to catch up on each other's separate vacations; Beca describes the beach house, Florida as a whole and her first encounters with the Beale's. She tells Stacie the plans for Thanksgiving tomorrow and overly emphasizes her excitement when she lists everything that Charlotte is making for dinner. Stacie then informs Beca that Sarah, Stacie's mother, (but basically the whole family) misses her back home and that Portland isn't Portland without a tiny, grouchy elf to share her snarkiness and spice up the Thanksgiving mood.

Mid sentence as she explains to Stacie her near death experience when riding caboose on a jet ski, (with Chloe driving this time while she purposely flips them over during a sharp doughnut turn just because, "you haven't experienced jet skiing if you don't fall off at least once, Beca!") she hears footsteps coming her way and is greeted by no other than a half asleep, zombified redhead, who still can manage to look absolutely jaw dropping without even trying.

Chloe stumbles up next to her on the sand and snuggles her way like a dog under Beca's arm to fit like a puzzle piece up next to her body. She wraps her arms around Beca's waist and gives her weak kiss on the cheek before leaning the side of her head into that perfect space between the brunette's neck and shoulder.

"Who are you talking to?" Chloe mumbles groggy and there's a raspy vibration in her voice that Beca can't help but find extremely attractive.

Before Beca can answer, Stacie seems to hear this first. " _Is that Chloe?! Tell her I said hi!"_ Chloe lifts her head to mouth "Stacie?" and Beca nods her head with a laugh, removing the device from her shoulder to put her friend on speaker for all to hear.

"Hi Stacie!" In a snap of a finger, Chloe's mood shifts from about ready to start sleep walking to waking up the entire state with her amount of enthusiasm when hearing Stacie's voice. "How's Oregon? Your family? Aubrey? I already know that question since I talked to Aubrey earlier but still. How are you two?"

Stacie answers Chloe's mother load of back to back questions while Beca admires the interaction from a now leaning position. She takes in the beauty of just wearing a faded hoodie that was once her's and a simple pair of sleeping shorts because somehow, Chloe has the power to make anything look amazing on her, despite what it is that she is wearing.

And also, how many people can say that their girlfriend and best friend get along this well? Not many she can tell you that.

" _Well I'll let you guys go, I have to take a shower and freshen up for bed. You two behave now,"_ Stacie warns in a playful tone that isn't meant to be taken seriously. Knowing Stacie, Beca expects she will want some naughty stories when they see each other back in California.

Sharing their final goodbyes and promises to call tomorrow since technically it's Thanksgiving in Florida but not back in Oregon, Beca hangs up the call and throws the phone next to her on the sand. Getting one last good glance at Chloe, who wets her lips just once before Beca's head moves in on autopilot for a kiss, they separate with lazy smiles and tangle their limbs within each other.

"What are you doing up so late?" Chloe asks softly, resting her head back on Beca's shoulder. Her body heat next to Beca gives an extra warmth, and though tonight's weather is barely even a light jacket necessary, it's comfortable. Touching Chloe and being this close to her is always comfortable.

"Couldn't sleep," Beca answers but corrects herself when the look of worry washes over Chloe's face when retracted from her shoulder. "Nothing bad, I promise," she assures with a sincere smile and can see Chloe start to ease. "Kinda wanted to appreciate the scenery."

Chloe follows Beca's focus out to the water where the moon's reflection bounces brightly off the gentle waves. There's a faint breeze to push the water and gives off a whiff of salt water every once in awhile and a mist that freshens the air.

Chloe smiles and releases a soft sigh. "Florida isn't too bad huh?" Beca squeezes the arm around Chloe's mid tighter and hums in answer, pleased. There's a brief moment of comfortable silence while they take in the sight before Chloe speaks again and as she does, she turns to face Beca, eyes glowing bright under the moon's light. "I do have to say this view is a lot prettier."

Beca barks a laugh because there's no way Chloe can say anything more cheesier than that. "Oh my God. Where did you find that line? Twitter?"

"What if I did, what if I didn't?" Chloe scoffs offended, but her smile never fades and neither does that sparkle in her eyes. Biting her bottom lip in a way Beca knows what's going to happen next, Chloe moves to push her laying flat down on the sand by the shoulder but the instant memory of a certain car ride down here clouds her mind and she stands her position.

Beca tilts the weight to the other end of the titter totter and this time uses her strength to push Chloe to lay down underneath when she is settled astride over Chloe's waist, not even allowing her girlfriend the time to question her refusal to lay down. Red haired splayed across the sand and her brows furrowed, Beca swallows any questions Chloe had to ask by a slow burning kiss that leaves them both breathless.

Hands travel down Chloe's forearms from where they were entwined above her head, all the way until Beca is inching them up underneath the cotton material of the hoodie, nails scratching over tight muscles. She smirks devilishly at the confirmation that Chloe is in fact, absent of a bra and wastes no time to palm the flesh between her fingers.

Chloe's eyes fall shut while her back arches into the touch, wanting more from Beca and when her mouth opens slightly, a soft moan escapes to spread directly over Beca's lips. "Are we….going to do….. this?" she says through a series of pants and maybe even a few moans when Beca works her mouth to the area just below Chloe's ear, matching the gropes along Chloe's chest.

There's a secret spot hidden under Chloe's earlobe that is extremely ticklish, so when Beca starts to suck that area with a purpose, Chloe flails with giggles to shake her head away from the kisses and Beca honestly thinks she hasn't seen or heard anything more adorable.

_But focus, Mitchell. You're trying to get payback._

Moving down Chloe's neck to where she is able to feel a throbbing pulse against her lips, the giggles transform back into heavy breathing and Beca's lips move unintentionally into a devilish smirk. "I do remember myself making a promise to you earlier," she lowers her voice, knowing exactly how Chloe's body reacts to a deeper timbre. "And you should know...I _never_ break a promise."

Though they could perfectly walk inside and avoid having sand in places that it shouldn't be and be far more comfortable on top of a cushioned bed, Beca for the life of her just couldn't seem to pull away. In her defense, she hasn't seen Chloe in over two weeks and the euphoria from her birthday night was still haunting her like a ghost so _of course_ , when Beca wants something, she gets it that instant. No beating around the bushes.

Like a switch, Chloe's eyes snap open, color a whole shade darker and they have this daring glaze urging Beca on. "What are you waiting for then?" Chloe urges so seductively that it almost knocks Beca over from where she is hovering up above. Or maybe it is because somehow her hands made their journey up under Beca's shirt to mirror the movements, pinching and grasping the skin just under the bra to almost cause Beca's head to plummet into her chest.

One last daring glare before Chloe leans up to recapture Beca's lips and you all can guess what happens next.

* * *

_**Thursday November 24, 10:23 AM** _

_Dad: Happy Thanksgiving Becs. I hope you're enjoying Florida and having a great time over there. Sheila and I miss you around the house. It wasn't the same without you or Stacie here._

_Diplo: Happy Thanksgiving shorty. Hope as is well down in Tampa. Tell Chloe I said hi and have fun!_

_Selena Gomez: Hey you! Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving! Miss you lots B!_

_**Thursday November 24, 11:36 AM** _

_Stacie: Happy Turkey day my little munchkin!_

_Stacie: I miss you tons and I hope you grub enough for the both of us!_

_Stacie: And I mean actual food, not just ginger ;)_

_**Thursday November 24, 12:34 PM** _

_Aubrey Posen: Happy Thanksgiving Beca. Hope you're taking good care of my best friend. If not, remember what will happen._

_**Thursday November 24, 6:04 PM (Warren)** _

**B: Thanks Dad. Sorry I got back to you so late, busy day today. But I miss you and Sheila too. Hope you guys had a nice dinner and don't worry, I'll visit soon.**

_**Thursday November 24, 6:04 PM**_ **(Group Message Selena & Diplo)**

**B: Haha thanks you guys. Florida is amazing and Chloe is great. I'll tell her you said hello! You both as well have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't do ;-)**

_**Thursday November 24, 6:04 PM (Aubrey)** _

**B: Weird how I can say the same thing to you considering that you as well are dating my best friend ;-) we are fine and thanks. Hope you have a good one.**

_**Thursday November 24, 6:04 PM (Stacie)** _

**B: Ughhh thanks Stace. Tell the fam I said so too.**

**B: Sorry it's a lot later. I helped Chloe's mom with dinner and of course Chloe got me back on the jet ski.**

Once she is done replying to the mountain of text messages she received from everyone, Beca flops onto Chloe's bed in hope to digest the amount of food she stuffed into her tiny little body before she adds to that with the bonfire Chloe and her brothers are setting up, joined by an unholy amount of s'mores. Not to surprised when her phone vibrates over her chest not even a minute later with a reply and knowing for sure it is Stacie because the girl is glued to her cellphone, she swipes open the unread message.

_**Thursday November 25, 6:05 PM** _

_S: Awh that's nice! How was dinner?_

**B: Amazing. I don't know why Chloe wasn't gifted with the skills of a chef because holy shit her mom can cook. I always thought nothing could beat Sarah's cooking but damn, Charlotte's comes in as a close second**

_S: Momma Conrad isn't going to be too happy when I tell her this ;)_

_S: But everything else was good? How is Chloe's family?_

**B: At first I'm not going to lie, I was scared shitless. But now, I feel like...welcomed into their family, as crazy as that sounds. The only scary part was meeting Rick, Chloe's dad, but other than that, they're just as bubbly and sweet as Chloe and it's just awesome down here.**

_S: Oh no, was it bad?_

**B: Just the usual father intimidation card. He's super nice though and can make a mean drink.**

_S: Getting drunk already? ;)_

**B: Haha no.**

**B: Maybe a buzz from my drink from dinner but ask me in an hour and the answer might change.**

_S: That's nice! Anyone ask you for an autograph yet?_

**B: Honestly, my work, the album or my status hasn't even been brought up in conversation other than a congratulations with the album reaching number one. It's nice to not be drowned in compliments and questions about celebrities and just chill out for a bit.**

**B: This time I know they like me for me and not my fame or because I'm sort of famous you know?**

_S: Sort of famous? Babe, you're on a cover of the most popular music magazine and mentioned in all others. You performed at one of the biggest concerts in Los Angeles, will be performing on one of the most popular music awards shows and already has four hit singles on only your first album._

_S: You're basically Michael Jackson_

**B: And here I thought you'd compare me to Bieber ;-) thank you for not doing that**

_S: I typed it then deleted it…you're welcome_

**B: You know, the fame is nice every once in awhile but truthfully it's exhausting. I'm blessed, don't get me wrong but sometimes, especially my relationship, I wish I could keep away from the media and flashing cameras.**

_S: And now with you and Chloe being Hollywood's "it" couple that could make it through a tsunami and still be as strong as titanium, there's no way of keeping anything you do a secret._

**B: Exactly. Also, I love my job more than anything but as times goes on, the more demanding it gets when it comes to work.**

**B: Plus with Chloe's student teaching going on and her now looking for a permanent school to teach at, our schedules are starting to conflict.**

_S: I know I can't say I fully understand what you're going through but I can take a rough guess and say it's not that easy. But you and Chloe are tough! I bet this mini vacay away from musicians was a God's gift sent from the heavens huh?_

**B: Oh Hell yes. It's so fucking nice just to relax after months of constantly tweaking something on the album. Also it's nice to get away from managers and constant business calls.**

**B: I just want my lazy days back with you. And I want Chloe to be there too, hanging around like couch potatoes in an apartment sweet, living in West Hollywood with a jacuzzi and Buttercup and Tank.**

_S: Have you talked to Chloe about this?_

**B: About what?**

_S: Moving up to California? Starting a life with you up there._

**B: Yeah no. I might love her to the moon and back and vice versa but still, dropping the "moving" bomb so soon after only months of dating screams a big fat disaster.**

_S: You don't know that! Again, you and Chloe are an anomaly when it comes to couples. The way things work for you two wouldn't work for anybody else._

**B: Still though. It's too soon. I can't just ask her to pack up, leave everything in Georgia to come live with me. That's a commitment she needs time to think about.**

**B: I'm not that selfish.**

_S: Okay, you're right. I just wouldn't mind having a girls day whenever just to visit the mall since YOU won't go with me :(_

**B: Damn right I won't. I've done my fair share of carrying your shit everywhere when we go to the mall. I have scars on my feet from blisters with how much you make me walk.**

***New Text Message from Chloe Beale***

_**Thursday November 24, 6:18 PM** _

_Chloe: Fire is ready :) Think you can make it outside?_

_C: I already made you a s'more ;)_

**B: God, what did I ever do to deserve a gem like you?**

_C: Mmmm I think it's the great sex and multiple orgasms ;)_

**B: You're so dirty, Beale.**

**B: I love it.**

**B: I'll be out soon**

_**Thursday November 24, 6:21** _

_Stacie: You're so dramatic!_

**B: Whatever. I'm also hungry again so I'm going to the fire to make some s'mores**

**B: Text me later?**

_S: Will do ;) have fun!_

Using all her might to push herself out of bed, Beca finally makes it to her feet and heads for the door. Just as she is about to leave the room, her phone lights up with a text message.

_**Thursday November 24, 6:26 PM** _

_Cassidy: Beca, I know this is bad timing and short notice but you need to fly back to Los Angeles. Atlantic is paging me to get you down here to have a conference with Joanna's manager._

Beca doesn't know how many times she reads the message over and over again, thinking that her eyes are playing a hallucinating trick on her but it's enough times to let her know that it doesn't change.

This can't be right.

She's on vacation _-vacation_ with Chloe and her family. For Christ sakes it's _Thanksgiving,_ not April Fools and the album is finished and she shouldn't be doing anything work related whatsoever and that includes conference meetings with an artist's manager.

Unable to believe that this was some kind of prank and is eagerly waiting for a "just kidding" text to come in from Cassidy, she received nothing but a phone call instead.

When answering the call and expecting Cassidy's cackles to echo through the other end when she admits it's all just one big fat joke, she can tell by the seriousness in her manager's tone that this situation is everything but a joke.

"Are you serious?" Beca can't help but raise her voice when hearing that the reason she has to fly back from a enjoyable vacation with her girlfriend is because pop star "Jojo" is a very busy girl and could only meet on _fucking_ Thanksgiving, out of all the other days, according to her manager.

" _I'm so sorry Bec. I know you're down in Tampa with Chloe and it's a holiday but you can't pass this up."_ Cassidy is trying to be cautious with her words, hoping to not push the wrong buttons but all this conversation is doing to Beca as she continues to talk about it is making her more upset.

"Why can't I just sign with another artist? One who actually spends vacations wisely with family and not ruining other people's weekends?" Beca spits into the phone and starts to pace around the room while the heightening anger only boils inside.

" _Because you've already signed the contract and need to go over steps you want to take when producing her album and meet with the A &R." _Beca huffs. That's not nearly a good enough reason to drop her plans and fly back to California. " _The label can't afford nor wants to pocket out millions of dollars because you want to let an artist go, Beca. You're signed to Atlantic, Joanna signed the agreement contract and now you have to work with her."_

Okay, that was a better reason but still, Beca didn't want to agree without a fight at least. "Why can't Atlantic hire another producer?"

" _Have you not read the headlines under your name? You are THEE producer artists want to collab with. I heard rumors of Rihanna wanting to cut her contract with Def Jams to switch to Atlantic. You producing a comeback album for JoJo would be huge!"_

Fucking Hell.

"I don't care about how big it is or how much I'm going to make. This isn't cool and indeed isn't fucking fair. I'm spending the Goddamn holiday with my _girlfriend_ whom I have to basically cross my fingers everyday for a small chance to see her once every few months!" Beca hisses, venom lacing every word as her hands flail around to only add to her rage.

" _I'm really sorry that this is happening but there's nothing I can do. I've already spoken to Roger for a chance to maybe schedule a different time but with the Billboard Music Awards coming up and the whole signed artist money issue, he has his hands tied around his back as well."_

By this point, Beca is livid. She knows Cassidy has no other options and is just doing her job that she has been hired to do. Also, she understands that sometimes, especially in the music industry, things get tight. What she is most pissed about is being strung by a leash with her job when she hasn't even stayed a full twenty four hours in Tampa. Like seriously, this dilemma couldn't have came on _Friday_ when it's not a holiday?

" _Roger organized a jet that I just boarded to fly down to Tampa and pick you up. Then from there, we will immediately fly back up to Los Angeles, give you some time to get ready before your meeting at three."_ Not only does she have to leave Florida but she has to leave at midnight and travel without any sleep all the way back to California, seriously?

Beca halts her pacing and feels all the anger in her body start to deflate when she sees no way out of this one. Whether she likes it or not, this is her job and she has certain commitments that she signed up for to make. But even knowing that, it doesn't take away the feeling of being used by puppeteers, which happens to be her job and strung by the hand doing whatever they want when they please.

Agreeing to the orders of estimated time Cassidy will pick her up and sending her current location, she hangs up the phone, one hand dragging through her hair distraught and flops back onto the edge of Chloe's bed. This was suppose to be a relaxing, fun weekend spent with Chloe and now, she has to cut it short.

Footsteps are heard up the stairs and with that warning, Beca braces herself and tries her very best to force a weak smile despite the pain in her chest as she waits for Chloe's grand entrance.

"Are you stalling Ms. Mitchell?" When cautiously pushing open the cracked door, Chloe enters with her signature, cheeky smile that only seems to hurt Beca even more than how she already feels when usually it makes her feel warm and fuzzy inside. "Your s'more is no longer warm a gooey inside." And then Chloe pouts, batting her eyelashes and it tweaks something sharp inside Beca's heart.

Not able to respond right away, she kind of gets lost as she eyes Chloe head to toe and soaks in the true beauty of her girlfriend. She lost her fancy blouse and black jeggings that she wore to dinner and settled for a pair of grey sweats and a navy tank top. Already from the sun, her skin is a glimmering bronze and her still crimped hair looks more auburn than normal and _oh my God_ how is Beca going to be able to leave this girl?

Must have been able to see right through Beca's facade, Chloe's smile curves downward into a frown before that puppy dog look of worry washes over her features and she's creeping up closer next to Beca who remains seated on the bed with her hands curled above her lap. "What's wrong, baby?"

And of course the pet name and how much Chloe truly cares about her well being crumbles the little strength Beca had left to keep a smile on her face while the added stress from her job plays its own part through Beca's tears, which come almost instantly when Chloe brings her in for a comforting hug.

Again, she just wishes, _for once,_ things were easier for the both of them. But now, it only seems like things are getting harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As for someone who isn't familiar with the whole music industry, I hope you understand that everything mentioned may not be realistic, but I try! :)  
> Things are getting rocky for the two lovebirds and I'm here to tell you things will only get rockier...so there's that to look forward to! :D


	20. New Rumors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter my friends. I can't believe this story is actually almost finished. It's a bittersweet feeling, for sure, and can't thank you all enough for following along. All your comments, favorites and follows mean the world to me and really make my world go round.  
> Next chapter will be more of an epilogue type deal, probably not nearly as long as these past two chapters have been.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, lovelies.  
> Songs used, "All We Know" by The Chainsmokers
> 
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT NOR THE SONGS MENTIONED)

_**Thursday November 24, 6:33 PM** _

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Beca has no idea how to drop the bomb to Chloe that in a couple of hours, she'd be boarding a jet to fly back out to Los Angeles, leaving everything they planned and anticipated for so long to get dumped down the drain. And really, she doesn't even think there is a way she can say this, fluff it up a bit without the highlighted label on her forehead reading off the bold words, "I'm the world's worst girlfriend."

So even though it seems impossible, Beca tries her very hardest to say at least _something_ to Chloe under the reassuring kisses to her temples and warm embrace that blankets over her entire body, but she isn't able to squeak anything out with the way her throat constricts once words are eventually formed. Crying though seems to be a breeze for Beca as she sheds the pent up tears mixed with all her frustrations and heartbreak that she has to leave into the chest of Chloe's shirt.

Seeing this, Chloe doesn't force anything on Beca just yet, which she is highly grateful for. Instead, Chloe comforts, and doesn't for a second even loosen her hold around Beca's frame, keeping her snug and close until she is finally ready to talk. When she is ready, Beca pulls her face away from Chloe's chest, eyes red, puffy and Chloe is there, staring a her with so much worry in those baby blues it almost breaks her apart all over again.

"You wanna tell me what's wrong?" Chloe's voice is quiet, keeping a low volume for Beca's sake. She takes one of her hands and pushes a strand of hair gently out of her girlfriend's face to hook snuggly behind her ear.

"I'm sorry," Is all Beca can get out right now, choked up by the thought of leaving and having to admit it out loud.

"What are you sorry for?" Though Chloe seems truly confused about what Beca could be sorry for, there's a reassurance laced in her voice and Beca feels safe under it.

"It's...my stupid job and fucking Jojo's manager that are ruining my life right now, and _Jesus_ , I can't spend one fucking holiday away without there being _something_ ," Beca babbles, her hands flailing around in every directing, only adding to her amount of anger. Chloe nods her head as she takes everything in, but Beca can tell she is speaking a foreign language to the girl who knows only bits and pieces of what's going on.

"What is your job making you do?" Curiosity comes out as an all time high, but never does her worry for Beca start to fade.

Beca inhales all the air she can get before blowing it out slowly, mentally preparing for the worst. "I have to leave," her voice doesn't exceed pass a shaky whisper and her eyes have fallen to her lap where her hands are wrapped together to purposely miss the reaction once it catches up to Chloe, thumbs twiddling back and forth.

"What?" Chloe asks at the same volume, still tripped up over what was really going on but this time, she sounds more ill, and Beca wants to scream because she really doesn't want to repeat this again.

It hurt enough the first time saying those painful four words and chances are it will hurt even more the second time around.

"I have to leave," Beca repeats louder and makes the courageous decision to tear her gaze away from her hands and meet Chloe's stare, which is a mistake all together.

By the second, Chloe's eyes and body language deflate with sadness, stabbing Beca in the heart multiple times while she watches that once bright glow disintegrate. "Like….back to California?" There's no more confusion with this question, only disappointment, and that was the one thing Beca never, _never_ wanted Chloe to feel towards her.

Beca nods her head, biting the inside of her cheek and raising her focus to the ceiling, blinking back the tears.

"Can I ask why?"

 _Because life seems to be a real bitch and does bitchy fucking things to me when I'm finally happy in life,_ Beca thinks to herself, wanting to answer the question with this, but decides to drop it, knowing for a fact Chloe won't appreciate the answer. So, she re-words her thoughts while her eyes connect back with Chloe's.

"Cassidy called me and said I have a meeting, supposedly with Jojo's manager to get a head start on the album." Beca hides the bitter taste when saying this well. She waits for Chloe to reply, but blue eyes fall hopelessly to her lap and if possible, Beca feels even more shittier than before.

"Chloe, I'm so sorry," Beca mutters again, heart crumbling more and more each time she opens her mouth.

"I understand," Chloe says quietly and the only reassurance Beca feels is the hand still wrapped tightly around her waist, rubbing soft circles at the bone. "I'm just upset you have to leave. This weekend was suppose to be for us."

"Please don't let me ruin your holiday weekend," Beca begs, not wanting to be the reason Chloe doesn't enjoy the time with her family because of her absence. She catches Chloe's eyes start to glimmer a glassy sheet of tears until she is shaking them away and forcing a small smile to her face.

"Let's just…..enjoy the time we have left together okay?" Beca only blinks, more expecting a crying fest with the abrupt, holiday ruining news she just announced to Chloe. "I know my family will want to squeeze out a few more questions before you leave." The hurt in Chloe's voice is evident but even with it, she doesn't waste a second before placing a lingering kiss to Beca's temple, standing up from her bed and offering a helping hand.

All Beca can do is follow Chloe up off the bed and out the door to her room. She knows they're not okay but spending the remaining hours she has is Florida talking about something that can't be changed is a waste of time when really, they could enjoy each other's presence while they have it.

Because truth is, who knows when the next time will be.

* * *

_**Friday November 25, 6:35 AM (California time)** _

_C: Hey baby. Landed?_

**B: Yeah just did actually. Driving back to the apartment now so I could rest.**

_C: How do you feel?_

**B: Awful. I don't want to be here; I want to be with you.**

_C: I wish you were here too. I miss you already, and I'm sure my mom does as well lol_

_C: Just….get your stuff done so you can get your cute butt back here okay? Next time, I'm not sharing you with no one._

**B: Good because I'm all yours no matter what.**

* * *

_**Monday November 28, 10:34 PM** _

**B: Please tell me you're still up right now?**

**B: Please? :-(**

_**Monday November 28, 10:43 PM** _

_C: I am now lol ;)_

**B: Thank God!**

With confirmation that Chloe is in fact still up, she exits out of their messages in a hurry and dials up her number, desperate to hear the sweet sound of her girlfriend's voice. She throws off her laptop bag that is slung over her shoulders uncaringly and it lands somewhere around her room while she flops onto her bed exhausted from a day of nonstop moving.

" _Hey you,"_ Chloe's sleep voice already takes a toll on Beca's emotions, whirling her deep into the simple observation that this girl is the most adorable thing out there. A kitten like yawn sneaks its way through the line next before Chloe starts to speak again, " _how was your day?"_

Beca cranes her head to rest in her free hand with her elbows placed firmly into the mattress. "Long," she breathes; the only word that seemed appropriate for a description of how her day actually went. "Requirements for the in process album is driving me up a wall."

" _Not doing so good? I bet everyone is demanding a new album ASAP with how great your last one did."_

"Literally." Oh was that an understatement. It is like, Beca barely got any breathing room from the last album to this one before artists were demanding an album to be finished and served on a silver platter before summer of next year. "How was your day though? Sorry I'm calling so late. I really wanted to hear your voice."

" _I'm glad you called, first day back is always kaotic. We are starting to make a line up for our winter recital. The kids are so excited to be singing Jingle Bell Rock, just because of Mean Girls,"_ Chloe gushes, her voice heightening a couple octaves and it makes Beca's insides turn to mush at how excited Chloe tends to get when talking about her students. " _Do you think you'll be able to make it?"_

Beca scratches the top of her head, "it's the fourteen correct? The day before your Christmas Break?" Chloe hums, answering the question. "I don't know, babe. It depends on work. Sometimes I wish I was a teacher so I could get those couple weeks off for Christmas."

" _Teaching does have its pluses I must say."_ Despite the clear sound of disappointment laced in Chloe's words as the answer to her previous question was something not preferred, she still manages to giggle. " _We should talk about Christmas. What would you like to do?"_

"Wanna come down here? Spend Christmas in LA on the beach? There won't be any snow on the ground but I'll make eggnog."

Chloe squeals loud and hitch pitched. " _I love eggnog!"_ she admits in a child like tone. " _And I love you but the cost of flying up there is just not possible."_

Beca frowns, all the hope deflating from her body. "I guess you're right." But then lights up again at a thought. "I can pay for your ticket? You could just tell me what days work for you."

" _I know my parents wanted to do something for Christmas, since Thanksgiving didn't go as planned,"_ Chloe says after a sigh, shooting down all of Beca's suggestions. " _There's no way you can fly down?"_

"I mean, if I get majority of my work done with the album there's a slight possibility I could make it, but that's if I meet requirements before deadlines," Beca says, hating to always be the bearer of bad news. It was like no matter how hard she tried and wanted to make it for Chloe, possibly take a trip down to Atlanta or Florida, hoping for the next holiday not to get ruined like Thanksgiving was, making music seem to always get in the way. Never would she of thought that doing something she loved so much would start to feel like a chore instead of a hobby.

Beca's gut takes a brutal hit at Chloe's disappointed sigh. " _Well hopefully you can come down, Beca. I miss you like crazy."_

And boy does Beca wish the same thing.

"I miss you too, baby."

* * *

_**Tuesday November 29, 1:35 PM** _

_C: Hey baby :)_

**B: Hey trouble :-)**

_C: What are you doing?_

**B: Same thing I've been doing since six this morning :-(**

**B: Scanning every inch of YouTube for possible young and talented artists.**

_C: Oh well that doesn't sound too fun!_

**B: And you'd be correct. I wanna fork my eyes out I'm so bored.**

_C: Want some entertainment? Wouldn't want my girlfriend to die of boredom ;)_

**B: You already done with class?**

_C: Mhmm. Finished at three today since I had no papers to grade._

_C: So I'm alone, at home and laying in bed with lots of tricks up my sleeve to entertain you_

**B: And what do you have in mind, Ms. Beale?**

_C: Mmm, I love it when you call me that ;)_

_C: Why don't you check your messages and find out_

Arching a brow reading this message, her confusion is answered when a picture message from Chloe vibrates in her hand.

_***New Picture Message from Chloe Beale*** _

Once she opens it though, she quickly finds out that it's not only Chloe, specifically her legs that are spread wide open and a lone hand just underneath a laced, navy blue thong but also, a video. Pressing play, Beca nearly almost explodes when she hears the soft moans of Chloe panting out her name in the back ground as the hand caught underneath that lacey material moves in a slow, circular motion and ending way too fast, if Beca's being honest. Toes curling in her shoes as Chloe's moans haunt her head now, tingling every inch of skin and lighting a fire in her stomach, she receives two more messages.

_C: I'm thinking about you right now._

_C: Looking at one of your pictures, touching myself and wishing it was you._

Beca can't even pinpoint what picture Chloe is talking about with the amount of pictures she has exchanged, both inappropriate and not during the span of three months talking. Sexting was a new thing Beca had discovered the first time her phone buzzed and she opened a message from Chloe, who happened to be topless and topless on purpose.

They'd send their own individual pictures randomly throughout the day when they're…..well….. _horny_.

And even though Beca wasn't the biggest fan of sending a naked picture, let alone taking one, she felt safe sending them to Chloe and she couldn't help but heat up at the thrill once she got past her insecurities and discovered how insanely hot it is.

**B: Fuck**

**B: You look so wet**

_C: Mmmm yeah, baby_

_C: I'm so wet. I wish it was you touching me, you kissing me all over my body._

_C: I need you, baby._

Beca can already feel the heat between her thighs almost triple in temperature as it radiates along her entire body, head to toe. Glancing around the room to find a possible escape route, Beca lands on the list of requirements and planned studio time with Jojo she has in approximately, five minutes, placed front and center on a sticky note that's slapped to her desk.

The only thing she wants to do is take a lunch break, zoom home and get into her bed to finish something Chloe just started when sending that very naughty video. She wanted to release all the built up tension from work, the album and being back in California by Chloe's whimpers as she comes in harmony through the phone, her name the last word dropped from Chloe's mouth.

But of course, that can't happen with the piles of work she has to do in office today, knowing if she were to take a "personal" break, there'd be no way she'd make it home in a reasonable time tonight, let alone Christmas.

**B: I wish I was there.**

**B: I also wish I could really hear you moan my name till you're left physically breathless.**

**B: But I'm at work, and I have so much shit to do.**

_C: You sure you can't just….blow off work?_

_***New Video Message from Chloe Beale*** _

Beca full on drops her phone at the sent video this time as she watches Chloe pump two fingers in and out of her soaking core, throaty moans emitting back to back, one right after the other. A free hand sneaks up Chloe's stomach, pushing away any layer of clothing and Beca _so_ should've expected Chloe to be braless.

Fingers pinch and pull over a hardened nub and it's the breaking point for Beca as she clenches her legs together, praying that she will get a grip on her hormones before she practically combusts.

**B: Shit Chlo**

**B: You're so fucking hot**

_C: Think you could make some time for me?_

**B: God baby I wish I could.**

_C: :(_

**B: Can I make it up to you tonight?**

_C: Mmm, you promise?_

**B: I promise baby.**

_C: It's going to be hard to stop with you on my mind and this very naked and very sexy picture of you on my phone I can't stop looking at….butttt, I can wait a few more hours ;)_

**B: You're so dirty.**

_C: Just wait until tonight and I'll show you how dirty I really am_

* * *

_**Wednesday November 30, 12:03 AM** _

" _Hi you've reached Chloe Beale! Sorry I cannot make it to the phone right now but if you leave your name and number, I totes promise to get back to you as soon as I can!"_

 _*_ _**beep** _ _*_

"Hey Chlo, sorry I'm calling so late after I specifically told you'd I'd call earlier. Roger kept me late with meetings and I had a spur of the moment iheart radio interview I had to attend for Diplo's album that Cassidy left me unaware of. You're probably sleeping taking that it's three in the morning in Georgia so just…..I'm sorry again and tomorrow is kind of hectic too with studio time so it may be hard to reach me but I'll try to sneak away." A hand runs through her hair as Beca exhales a heavy, exhausted sigh into the device. "I love you, Chloe."

***call ended***

Irritation is the initial emotion after hanging up the phone. Not so directed towards Chloe but more so of the fact she has been working like a guinea pig with endless chores to do in her life. It's like, one second she has to have a meeting with the A&R and schedule studio time for sessions with her artist, or polish tracks that every time listened she always finds something wrong with the song that she now has to cut and edit.

And don't even get her started with the press and interviews she has to do regarding her spot at the BMAs and Diplo's album.

Either way, whatever it is she has going on in the day and it seems to be always _something_ , her time with Chloe has suffered significantly.

She misses Chloe; a tremendous amount.

But her job has the reign over her at the moment.

Hopefully this is just the climax to her life, and soon, everything will return back to normal and she'd be able to get more time to talk to Chloe without something getting in the way of that.

* * *

_**Friday December 2, 10:24 PM** _

Turns out, by the day and closer they get to the BMAs, the busier Beca got, not the other way around. Freedom or a day off shouldn't even be considered because at this point, Beca believes the only free time she'll have is when she's dead.

And with the constant thing to do on her agenda list that has been filling up by the second, it left Beca with barely any spare time to talk to Chloe. Skype dates were cancelled for tonight and on Tuesday since she got off so late and Chloe was already sleeping. The only exchange in texting was a couple good morning, I miss you and goodnight texts, but nothing more than that.

Playing phone tag became the most popular thing to do between the both of them and when Beca finally got lucky and caught Chloe on a time she could talk in between classes, lunch, or whatever it was, something from her crazy life was notorious for sneaking up and biting her on the ass and when that happened, her phone conversation with Chloe would be cut short, much to her dismay, leaving her clueless about the next time she'd be able to call her girlfriend again when they'd both be free.

Things in the past were easy for them.

Well, as easy as they could make it for sure.

But once fame and Beca's status rose alarmingly around the globe, her freedom with her social life was diminishing. She doesn't even remember the last time she had an actual dinner night with Stacie where they would sit down and talk about their days, maybe watch some crappy reality TV over a plethora of junk food. All of her dinners considered of endless trips to whatever fast food joint was open at such late hours, especially when she traveled all around the state California.

She also doesn't remember the last time she had a legitimate conversation with her girlfriend other than the recorded, "how are you?" "Busy, how are you?" "Good, just missing you." "I miss you too." text messages they sent spaced out during the days. Half of her wishes she kept hermit, keeping her voice, her talent a secret from the rest of the world. By doing this, she'd be another face in the crowd and definitely wouldn't have the demands she does now.

Schedules wouldn't be crunched; she'd have more flexibility when it came to her days and more importantly, she'd have the chance to talk to her girlfriend that was already hard enough with the time difference between states when now planned voicemails are practically scripted.

That's all she really wants.

Is it too much to ask?

* * *

_**Sunday December 4, 11:37 AM** _

**B: Hi, I need to talk to you.**

_S: Sup munchkin? You good?_

**B: Actually, I'm not.**

**B: You see Chloe's snapchat lately?**

**B: Preferably the last hmmmmm hour or so?**

_S: Checking now!_

_S: Oh boy…._

**B: What is she doing hanging out with Tom, Stacie?**

_S: I have no idea._

_S: But it honestly looked like a friendly lunch, Becs. Nothing to look into._

_S: For Christ Sakes they were at a Panda Express_

**B: Would YOU like it if Aubrey was going to lunch with Jesse? An ex?**

**B: Regardless of where too?**

_S: I wouldn't care because I know nothing is going on between the both of them._

_S: I trust Aubrey and know she wouldn't do anything._

_S: Don't you trust Chloe?_

**B: Yes I do. But I don't like her hanging around guys she use to talk to.**

_S: Tom isn't even considered an ex, is he?_

_S: And plus, how did you know it was Tom?_

**B: I creeped on his Facebook one morning when Chloe and I first started talking.**

**B: Whatever, irrelevant**

_S: Beca, I love you with all my heart but don't be that controlling person in a relationship_

_S: Do you think she liked the rumors that washed over the media when paps accused you of cheating on Chloe with Cassidy a while back?_

**B: No she didn't, I already talked to her about it.**

**B: She believed everything I had to say, not what they were writing on the media.**

_S: See? I think you just need to ask her. Drop it by casually._

**B: I can't drop it by if we are playing phone tag every damn day.**

**B: I've barely talked to her.**

_S: I thought you and Chloe have been better since Thanksgiving?_

**B: Well, we aren't like, fighting or anything. I just haven't had any flexible time around work, press and all that stuff to sit down and give her my full attention without something coming up.**

**B: I'm seriously on my way to San Diego for an interview.**

_S: I'm sorry Boo. Celeb life not what you thought it was going to be?_

**B: I knew it was going to be hard; I'm not dumb.**

**B: I just thought I would be able to balance my life evenly, but now that I've figured it out, it's not that easy**

**B: That's probably the real reason why I'm so upset, not the whole Tom thing. I trust Chloe with my life and I know for a fact she wouldn't hurt me.**

_S: It's not Chloe. My little red headed angel with a heart of cotton candy and puppies._

_S: Balancing lots of duties in anyone's life is hard. Fuck, have you ever tried juggling?_

**B: Haha yeah and it's fucking hard**

_S: And see? That's the same with life kind of._

_S: But like I always say, you'll think of a way to juggle everything at once. You're the big BM, in the words of Fat Amy ;)_

**B: God I sure hope so.**

**B: Chloe deserves better than what I've given her.**

_S: Then prove it._

* * *

_**Tuesday December 6, 12:29 PM** _

Finally, after nonstop running around, Beca gets the day off and the chance to relax at home, taking a much needed personal day in hopes to regain all her energy back. Once she experiences the lovely feeling of sleeping in again after waking up at the ass crack of dawn every morning for the past month, she unplugs her phone from the charger half awake and searches for Chloe's name in her contact list. Dialing the number, she sits up from her bed to move around, waking herself up.

_**Tuesday December 6, 12:34 PM** _

" _Hey_ ," there's a different tone to Chloe's greeting, something that has been more frequent after Thanksgiving, more cold, which is something that Beca has never experienced before and with that, it terrifies her. " _What's up?"_

Okay, weird.

"I uh..." Beca shakes her head to bounce back from the shortness of Chloe's voice, words not forming so easy like they usually did. "How are you?"

" _Fine_." Again, Chloe is short with her response and Beca's gut twists in all the wrong ways at how uncharacteristic it was. _"Busy with class."_

"I see." Beca tosses the amount of hurt she feels when usually Chloe would go on and on about her students and everything, no matter how small, or unimportant it was that went on during her day at school. Hearing it all was one of Beca's favorite things to listen to, also the passionate sound of Chloe's voice, which for now is like pulling teeth from a child as she tries to get Chloe to say more than five words. "How's the family?"

" _They're fine."_

Alright _,_ Cool _._

Now Beca is starting to get a little irritated and if she is being honest, it's kind of annoying. Never where her phone calls with Chloe this short and awkward, and never did any of them seemed forced like it feels right now. Talk about a one sided conversation that she was trying to keep afloat.

"What's going on, Chloe?" Beca attempts to hide the irritation in her voice, but the snap that came with the words made it evident. "Talk to me." One thing that the two of them never seemed to have a problem with was communication, so she knows that if she asked, Chloe would give her the God honest truth for her unnatural behavior.

" _I miss you, Beca,"_ Chloe admits softly, so vulnerable and weak that it cuts Beca deep. She wasn't expecting something like this to be admitted, and was more leaning along the lines of constructing her best apology to…. _whatever_ it was that made Chloe upset. " _I miss you so much and I feel like these past weeks I've barely even talked to you."_

"I'm so sorry, Chlo. Atlantic has me by the throat with demands for albums, interviews for magazines come daily I feel like and studio time basically runs up my entire day and-"

" _You see?"_ Chloe cuts in softly, barely above a whisper, to the point where Beca is actually surprised she heard this with the mouthful she was spilling about her job. " _That's the problem. You're always busy."_

"You know I have no control over that," Beca snaps defensively, choosing to get bold with her tone. "I thought you understood that I have certain commitments when it comes to Atlantic-when it comes to my job."

" _What about our commitments for each other? Don't you care about those?"_

Beca scoffs quite loudly at this, each word hitting her forcefully, like several punches to the gut. How dare Chloe think that she doesn't care about their relationship when these past days Chloe has been the only thing on her mind.

She lifts her eyes to the ceiling of her room, furiously blinking away the pooling tears as every emotion hits her at once. She definitely had a different perspective on how this phone was going to go.

" _I love you Beca, so much. But I just can't sit here and-"_

"Move to Los Angeles." Beca blurts out, not wanting to hear the rest of what Chloe might say and honestly, not even really processing the words in general. Even by the start, the road it was taking screamed dead end so she had to say at least something to keep it from turning a bad thing even worse.

" _What?"_ Chloe sounds truly pardoned to hear this outburst.

Without thinking again, Beca repeats herself more in depth, "move to California. We….we can start a new life up here together, you working at one of the top districts and me continuing to produce music. I-I-I can like, look up apartments where ever you want and we could go house shopping together."

" _You really think that me moving up to Los Angeles, dropping everything I've worked so hard on down in Georgia to come sit around and change my entire life while yours stays the same is going to work for us?"_ Beca freezes as she was expecting a completely different response from Chloe. " _You really think that me waiting around for you until the stuff in_ _ **your**_ _life settles down is going to solve all our problems?"_

Absolutely not; Beca knows this answer already.

Hell, she knew the answer when she had this conversation with Stacie about wanting Chloe to move up to California not too long ago and now, that answer still stays the same.

She doesn't really know why she blurted it out though, knowing she'd never want Chloe to up and leave her life back in Atlanta just to make herself happy. But she was panicking and the route their relationship is taking was worth any shot, no matter how batshit crazy it might sound.

" _Beca, I'd love to live a life and be in the same state as you. It's been a constant dream of mine since we've started dating."_ Beca inflates, seeing this conversation taking a good turn. Just a rocky start that's all. " _But I can't. Not right now."_ And then deflated, quickly, making her heart do something out of the ordinary.

And not in the good way.

Even knowing Chloe's answer before she even said anything, Beca grits her teeth, snapping back quite harshly. "Why? Tom busy keeping you entertained? Don't want to leave him and all your fun lunch dates?" Unintentionally, Beca resorts to anger, aware that what she is saying is false but too childish to admit she is sorry. "Is it him? That someone else you have back in Georgia that is preventing us to have a happy life?"

 _God_ , she really wish she would just shut the fuck up right now because it feels like all the boiling anger is controlling her mouth, spilling words that aren't even her.

Silence takes over both lines briefly before Chloe gives a heavy hearted scoff that is heard to be stinging.

 _"You know what? I can't believe you actually think I would do that to yo_ u." Honestly, Beca knows for a fact Chloe would never even think twice, let alone once about cheating on her. But right now, she's hurt about how things between Chloe and her are going and she can't help but to defend her emotions with blaming it on something else rather than taking the blame. " _Beca, how much love I have for you in my body is frightening and I can honestly say that nobody, and I mean_ _ **nobody**_ _can ever take your place, no matter how hard I could try."_

"What about Tom? Seems like he is making a good candidate for my replacement," Beca hissed, the amount of hurt making itself clear as day. Why she felt the need to bring this back up was beyond her. She knows Chloe and Tom's relationship is platonic and truthfully, Beca should respect that. Chloe is her own woman; she can be friends with whomever she wants to and Beca understands this because she trusts that Chloe will stay faithful.

But what Beca can't get over is how hurt she is that Chloe won't at least _try_ to make an effort in keeping their relationship alive by moving to California and starting a new life together.

And she knows that this is a dick move to pull on Chloe, _God_ does she know this, but the way things are going now doesn't look to good for them and _of course,_ she settles for anger, saying hurtful things that she doesn't mean, just like she does best.

Scientifically, it's in her nature, based on past experiences.

" _There's nothing else to say regarding the whole Tom situation other than he was there when you weren't."_ For the first time in three months of talking, Beca has never heard Chloe's voice heighten with so much anger.

Stabbed.

Stabbed right through the heart.

That's what it felt like hearing these words fall so harshly out of Chloe's mouth.

Beca's breathing hitches from the sudden lack of air and quickly, her anger towards the situation morphs to regret as she witnesses the situation turn on her. " _You haven't been here, Beca, like at all. I understand you have priorities in your own life but what about me? Don't I mean anything to you in your fancy, Hollywood life?"_ Before Beca can answer this as she opens her mouth to respond, Chloe cuts in. " _I'm lonely all the time, I've barely gotten the chance to talk to you when I need you the most and because of this, I'm at my worst. Tom was there to pick up the pieces, even though it was just a fucking lunch, Beca!"_

_Yikes._

Beca flinches at the Chloe's use for such a powerful word that barely makes an appearance in her girlfriend's vocabulary. If she didn't know before how upset Chloe was, she sure as Hell does now.

" _I don't want to be an afterthought when it comes to you,"_ Chloe's voices lowers weakly, unlike her boreline screams through the phone.

"I'm here now," Beca's battles back with and she knows it's not good enough. There's no way around the fact that she pretty much ghosted Chloe these past couple of weeks while her nose was buried with spending time in the studio. Overall, she could've made time if she worked hard enough. That fact is, she didn't put in her best effort for Chloe.

"Does that mean anything?"

And she knows it doesn't mean a damn thing, nor make up for her blowing off Chloe as much as she did but unintentionally, she can't help but get defensive.

  
Chloe exhales a heavy sigh after a few seconds of silence. _"I think we should take a break."_ Beca's thinks she physically feels her heart shatter to pieces while a knot forms in her throat to prevent her from breathing properly.

Is Chloe legitimately breaking up with her?

If that's the case, Beca might as well dig her grave now because a life without Chloe is useless.

_"We are obviously on different pages with how our lives are going. Maybe the time apart could get our heads in the right place."_

Beca thinks she is going to throw up.

Everything, literally everything going on between them was perfect-more than perfect. Hell, they haven't even experienced a _real_ fight but now, Chloe is making it seem like she wants to cut the cord. Cut literally everything that they've been through, wasting every five hour phone call, novels of text messages and marathons of movies watched during their date nights.

And maybe part of her was thinking that Chloe was joking about everything, getting her all riled up just because they haven't really spoken to each other one on one in a couple days. But Beca isn't dumb, though she tried to push this pass her thoughts more times than she can count. She might be thousands of miles away and can't really judge a person's behavior through technology, but what she can do and has mastered over the course of these blissful three months is point out the change in pitch when it came to Chloe's voice, knowing when she is upset, or tired, or happy.

And right now, by the flatness and how her words seem so…. _emotionless_ , Beca doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to tell that Chloe is just _**done**_.

"Chloe, I'm sorry, please don't do this" Beca doesn't even care that she on the verge of tears and is practically at her knees begging for Chloe to stay. "I'm sorry about the Tom thing; I really don't care! I-I can change though! Make more time for you and all, just please…. _please_ don't do this." At this point, she can't even hide the tears streaming down her face and the way it's making her voice start to shake.

" _I don't want you to change, Beca. I love you just the way you are and everything that you do. It's just…..sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to and the best decision is to let go instead of hoping that maybe tomorrow will be different. Forcing things that don't mesh well is never healthy."_ Beca can hear a similar crack hidden in Chloe's voice and can tell she isn't the only one doing the crying. There is though a wave of silence with neither of them talking and the sounds of broken cries from the other line become louder and louder by the second.

It stings a tremendous amount hearing that Chloe thinks they don't belong together when she's over here thinking that Chloe is the girl of her dreams. She thought their relationship meant more than what Chloe is showing and it fucking stung to hear that Chloe is so fast to give up on her, even through all the obstacles they've accomplished.

Another sniffle and a broken cry hits Beca's senses before Chloe is choking out some words in a rush, " _I have to go. Good luck at the Billboards, I'm sure you'll be great."_

That's it? Seriously?

"Chlo-" Before Beca can even get the rest of her sentence out, she is interrupted by the distinct click of the other line disconnecting. She checks and makes sure though, and true enough, Chloe's names is gone, replaced by a "call ended" screen and informing her that Chloe indeed hung up.

There are more concerns rather than questions after the phone call, like whether where her and Chloe stand as far as relationship wise, and the thought of them no longer being together makes Beca break down with even more tears and causes her stomach to drop straight down to her butt. It also lights a whole new flame of anger, which is probably why the next thing that happens occurs in a blur, ending with her phone exploding into the sidewall of her room, shattering the screen to pieces.

As much as she tried to keep it in, the pain comes out like an uproar from her throat to form a silent scream. Basically clawing out hair from her skull, she collapses to her bed, face falling between her thighs as she hunches over the edge, tears falling in an unbroken stream while her heart is yanked in and out of her chest like a yo-yo. She doesn't even care that she destroyed her phone; the only thing she cares about is Chloe, who apparently has had enough of her, so having a phone doesn't really even matter at this point anyway.

* * *

_**Tuesday December 6, 5:35 PM** _

**B: Hi. Broke my phone so I had to get a new one.**

**B: Just in case you've been trying to get a hold of me.**

_S: Why did you break your phone?_

_S: The last time we had to wait in line at the AT &T store was because your dad dropped the bomb on you having to go to college. I can be a witness and say that I've never seen you so mad._

**B: I'm fine. Just the wall ran into my phone at an insane amount of force.**

**B: Total accident**

_S: Actually, I think that's total bullshit_

_S: Want to tell me what really happened?_

**B: I'm pretty sure Chloe just broke up with me.**

_S: What?_

_S: Are you serious?_

**B: Well not like...fully up and said "I'm breaking up with you" but she did say she wanted us to take a break, which is basically saying the same thing as I never want to see or talk to you again so we are breaking up.**

_S: Okay no. That's definitely not what that means at all, but nice try reading between the lines._

**B: Okay brainiac, what does it mean then? Because how I'm reading it tells me she hates my guts right now**

_S: I can't tell you what it means with gaps in the entire story, smartass. What happened?_

**B: Long story short, I've been drowning in stuff at work trying to get this project started, or at least brainstormed and I haven't been the most active girlfriend with my phone. But that's only because when I am finally free of work, Chloe is either asleep, at school or just unavailable to talk-**

**B: We haven't been participating in our usual dates, we barely text other than the good mornings and goodnight texts and our phone calls last no longer than a few minutes. So this morning when I called her, she told me that she misses me and I'm never there and I'm a pathetic excuse as girlfriend**

_S: Chloe did NOT say that. Even I know the girl couldn't even think that if she tried._

**B: But she thought it...**

_S: Highly doubt it._

_S: But where does the mention of taking a break come into this scenario?_

**B: After I accused her of having something with Tom.**

_S: Dammit, Beca! I told you, I FUCKING TOLD YOU not to look into that!_

_S: It was ONE photo on snapchat that was them eating a casual lunch. Of course your fans that follow her blew up the situation bigger than it should've been but I told_ _you a repetitive amount of times it meant nothing!_

**B: I know I know. No need to lecture me mom.**

**B: When I'm angry, I can't control what flies out of my mouth.**

**B: Guess I let the rumors on social media fog up my head with things that couldn't possibly be true.**

_S: Damn right you did, dummy._

_S: Why were you so angry?_

**B: Because she shot down moving up to California without any consideration whatsoever.**

_S: Weren't you the one who told me it was one, way too early in your relationship ship to be asking each other to move in together and two, you'd never want to pressure her into leaving her own life back down in Georgia just because you want her to live up here?_

**B: Yes, but that was before Tom was in the picture. If she moves up here, she'd be with me all the time and not Tom.**

_S: You really need to stop dwelling on this Tom kid, Becs. Also, that is extremely selfish because if you can't be with her all the time, no one should be able to._

**B: Sorry for wanting to be with my girlfriend, Stacie. Sorry that I want to wake up with her every morning and surprise her with breakfast in bed. Sorry I want to pick out furniture like a married couple and do a bunch of domesticated things, like grocery shop and talk about the economy during dinner.**

_S: I already know how you feel and I understand why. But wanting her to pack up and leave everything at such short notice isn't fair. Especially if it is because of jealousy over someone irrelevant._

_S: What would happen if Chloe asked you to do all this stuff because she was sick of seeing US Weekly and reading all the headlines of you hooking up with another artist or celebrity?_

**B: I would tell her I couldn't because I'm kinda tied down with my job and also, she'd never ask me to do that because she trusts me enough to ignore all the media.**

_S: And why is it that you don't trust her with Tom? Has she given you any reason not to trust her?_

**B: No...**

_S: Then why start all of this, Beca? Why resort to playing the blame game on the happiest relationship I've seen you in?_

**B: Because I love her!**

**B: Fuck, I love her so much and I'm upset that I can't be with her to show just how much I love her because I have two fucking thousand miles keeping us apart! That's why, Stacie!**

_S: So you resort to fighting with Chloe instead of being honest?_

_S: You should've known immediately when first talking to Chloe that you were signing up for this. I have told you multiple times how hard a long distance relationship is to keep healthy and you being as stubborn as always tossed my warnings away._

_S: And it doesn't make it easier that you're a famous music producer with a handful of duties normal people wouldn't understand._

**B: What do I do? I'm pretty positive that I screwed up the best damn thing I had going in my life.**

**B: I'm just so sick and tired of hurting all the fucking time and feeling empty. When will I finally be happy?**

_S: I don't know, babe._

_S: All I know is that there is an answer to everything, though it may not seem like it at the moment. You'll find a way. I count on it._

_S: Plus, this gives you reason to apologize in the sappiest, movie like way possible._

**B: I hope you're right Stace.**

_S: Aren't I always? ;)_

_S: Did you tell Chloe about Atlantic taking over the production of Jojo's album?_

**B: No.**

**B: I mean, I was getting to it until she virtually broke up with me, as well as shattered my heart to pieces in the process.**

_S: Damn. How did that even happen anyway?_

_S: I thought she hired you to do her comeback album_

**B: Yeah she did but I'm hired to Atlantic, who basically overrules everything, so Roger unassigned me in a way. She works with Devon now, who fits the job better for the music she had planned to create anyways.**

**B: Plus, I used the excuse of Diplo's tour that I've decided to tag along with this coming Spring**

_S: Sexy, tall, dark and handsome Devon?_

**B: Yes, and I don't think Aubrey would like to hear from me that her girlfriend is checking out my production team ;-)**

_S: I don't think she'd like to hear from you at all if we are being honest munchkin lol_

**B: Fuck….she hates me?**

**B: I'm surprised I haven't been virtually cussed out over text or phone call yet.**

_S: Yeah….you aren't on the list of her most "favorite people."_

_S: Something about never wanting to deal with an upset puppy dog who goes by the name of Chloe Beale_

**B: Fuccckkk me.**

**B: I know I've been MIA since Thanksgiving but I have no control over my freedom. I thought Chloe understood that. We had conversations and all.**

_S: Maybe it's not about the understanding part but more so about having enough, drawing the line._

_S: Being sick and tired of always waiting by the phone for the small chance you might actually call._

**B: As my best friend, you're suppose to be making me feel better, not worse, dick.**

_S: As your best friend, I'm not supposed to lie to you and say things like you did nothing wrong when you've done the opposite. Also, I'm suppose to tell you to fight for your girl back because I love Chloe, you love Chloe and I love the both of you together and I just want to see you two happy._

**B: I hate when you're brutally honest.**

**B: But I kinda like it in a way.**

**B: And I kinda like you, so thanks for listening.**

**B: Wanna grab din? I had the day off.**

_S: And I love you too! ;D_

_S: You paying?_

**B: I paid last time!**

_S: Okay, rewind bitch_

_S: Let's take a look at our status and where we sit financially. I'm a broke, in debt college student who is about to pay for my masters program, thus being even more in debt and you are a world famous DJ who basically shits money. Conclusion, you're paying for me and that's the end of this discussion._

**B: Are you only friends with me because of the money I have?**

_S: You could spend 0$ on me and I'd still be happy as hell just spending time with you._

_S: But not tonight ;) I plan on you spoiling me._

_S: I'm on campus. Pick me up bebe ;)_

**B: Haha whatever. Be there in ten.**

* * *

_**Wednesday December 7, 8:36 PM** _

**B: Wanna go get some drinks?**

_Selena Gomez: On a Wednesday night? Don't you have to be in early tomorrow?_

**B: Yeah but so what**

**B: Wasn't it you that told me I should branch out and have some fun? Instead of being submerged in mixes?**

_Selena Gomez: Yes it was..but why now? It's a sudden change in behavior that sort of has me worried_

**B: Haha shut up**

**B: You in? Pretty sure my buddy Luke can get us in pretty quick at Avalon.**

_Selena Gomez: Psh, you can get yourself in fast at any place, Ms. This Year's Best Album ;)_

**B: And YOU can't even pull that card because you're Selena fucking Gomez, so zip it.**

_Selena Gomez: What's the real reason you want to go out, B? You haven't been yourself lately. Dip and I both noticed the extensive amount of alone time you've been spending in your office and the more than usual standoffish attitude._

_Selena Gomez: Before, you at least gifted us with your presence of sarcasm every once in a while._

**B: I'm fine. Just want to go out and have a few drinks with a good friend of mine.**

_Selena Gomez: I'll have a drink with you, but at my own home, not in one of Los Angeles's hottest clubs where there are millions of underdressed women just begging on their knees at a shot with Today's hottest DJ._

**B: What does that have to do with anything?**

_Selena Gomez: Beca, come on. I've read the articles, seen the hashtags, #bechloeisover, and have spotted more than a few depressing song lyrics on both your's and Chloe's accounts over the past few days._

_Selena Gomez: You're hurting, not in the right mindset and drinking in a place giving off bad vibes will only make you do something you'll regret the next morning._

_Selena Gomez: Do you honestly think that hooking up with someone else will fix all your problems? If anything, it's a temporary drug that once it runs out, all your problems you've been trying so desperately to run away from come back ten times harder. Is that what you want?_

**B: No, absolutely not.**

**B: And trust me, I've tried thinking about it, multiple times. I've tried imagining me kissing someone else, just in the hopes that all my pain when I think about Chloe will fade away, but I just can't. The thought of me being with someone else other than Chloe literally makes me sick.**

**B: I don't know what to do. I'm miserable all the time and all I want is my relationship with Chloe back, two thousand miles apart and all. At least then I'll have something rather than nothing.**

_Selena Gomez: You know what? I'm coming to pick you up. Be ready in twenty._

* * *

_**Wednesday December 7, 9:08 PM** _

"What am I looking at?" Beca asks cautiously as she enters into Selena's house and sees not only Diplo sitting at the island table with a notebook, laptop and a worried expression under his backwards snapback but also, Cassidy, Roger, and her whole production team. Office time was when they were usually all together, not when Beca is having relationship problems.

 _Jesus_ , it is like her dating life became the world's hottest news that everyone who's anyone wanted a sneak peak at all the drama that came with it.

"This," Selena sweeps in for the question, gesturing a hand out towards everyone, like she is revealing some grand surprise. "Is an intervention." Beca rolls her eyes because _duh_ , it is kinda obvious as to _what_ this was. Her main question is mostly why? "Right now, you aren't the sarcastic, moody music producer I met a couple months ago and have sung a couple kickass songs with. You are a close friend of mine whose heart is broken and is aching with pain regarding Chloe and we all don't want to watch you mope around anymore because honestly, it's heartbreaking. I care about you Beca and I think you need help."

Beca's body language deflates; the trueness of the scenario highlighted for everyone to see. Days for her turned into sulking; she'd wake up, almost text Chloe since texting her was muscle memory and a reflex she has developed. Netflix was watched like a religion, and not just any movie on Netflix, but the nasusteing, cheesy romance movies that Beca would usually avoid like the plague but then, she balled her fucking eyes out like a baby because her heart is still broken.

Waking up became painful, realizing that in a sense, she had nothing worth waking up to everyday as Chloe hasn't even tried contacting her.

Needless to say, help in some aspect is wanted dearly.

"We want to help with Chloe." Roger announces, not so much sounding like her boss but more so a caring friend and it makes Beca's heart swell despite it feeling like it's crumbling away. Selena walks her to the table where everyone is sitting, ushering her to take a seat front and center.

"Out of all my years knowing you, once Chloe came into the picture, she made you the happiest you've been yet," Stacie comes out of nowhere, hooking one of her tree arms around Beca's shoulders while she tries to figure out where the Hell her friend came from.

Guess tonight she missed the memo that everyone living in California was invited to her pity party.

Eventually Beca speaks up after catching that everyone is anxiously waiting, "you guys ever been so wildly in love with someone that you can actually feel it driving you insane?" She chuckles softly, but it's not the good feeling laugh that she emits when happy. It's a laugh filled with sadness, something that overrides any emotion lately.

People around the table shake their heads, answering "no," and proving her right as she figured this was a feeling most people didn't experience often. For herself, she's one of the lucky few picked to be enduring the good times and bad during this Hell of a rollercoaster ride, which also goes by the name of love.

"You know, I thought the both of us together was titanium, indestructible and all," Beca continues under the spotlight. "But then life got in the way, along with the distance keeping us apart and a question popped into my head. Are we fading lovers?"

"I'd go wherever Chloe went, whether it was fucking Chicago or the coast." Beca scoffs, shaking her head; it's nothing but the truth. She'd follow Chloe to the moon if possible.

But apparently, it wasn't the same for Chloe, not that she blames her for saying no. Moving your whole life for someone who barely makes an appearance in it?

Now she finally understands why that would be the worst mistake to make.

Everyone stares blankly at Beca and she feels herself shrink at all the glares that soon form into worrying, suspicious grins.

Selena taps her chin with a finger while engaging in a creepy telepathy thing with Diplo from across her dining room table, nodding their heads as if thinking the same exact thing. "That sounds like a perfect start to a song,"

"Um _what_?" Beca coughs nervously, all eyes remaining on her intently. She is fully aware that by now, invisible beads of sweat are outlining her forehead as everyone waits for a response.

"Don't try to snake your way out of this one, shorty. I found a notebook of yours in your desk while looking for some demos and couldn't help but notice that the material written inside was song lyrics," Diplo says, arching a brow and showing only minor regret that he pretty much violated Beca's privacy. " _Your_ song lyrics. Plus Stacie told us you dabble every now and then, which makes me wonder why you haven't published your own songs."

Beca glances around the room. Okay, what the fuck?

Now she has people snooping around through her desk at work that's suppose to be her safe and what the actual fuck, Stacie? Broadcasting one of her secrets like the world's news.

She sighs, rolling her eyes because she's basically trapped between a rock and a hard place with this one.

Now she understands why there's a notebook and pen in front of her that has been pushed forward and her entire producing team from Atlantic is present at this so called "meeting."

She stares dumbly at the blank piece of paper; Chloe flooding her mind instantly. Writing lyrics wasn't new territory though when her mom was around, she wrote more often compared to now, which is once in a blue moon. However, she hasn't had someone as important as Chloe impact her life in a way that left her wanting to pour Shakespeare onto a mixtape for the world to listen to.

But she guesses that writing her thoughts down could be helpful, transforming all of them into lyrics since talking about Chloe only starts to become repetitive and excruciatingly painful.

Then, an idea flashes in her head like a light bulb, taking in all her resources as far as being in the music industry with talented, clever people whose lifelines are based on her and Chloe's relationship. Also, with the great opportunity to put her plan in action as an upcoming music award show gets closer and closer, Beca jolts up from her seat, startling everyone.

Maybe this could be pointless; a waste of time. Or maybe it could be the best decision of her life, but adding to her track record and habit of not taking the easy way out of things, Beca takes the challenge.

Eyes now having a gleam of determination, Beca curves one of her signature smirks; a smirk that has been absent for far too long.

"I have an idea."

* * *

_**Saturday December 10, 8:50 PM (Georgia Time)** _

For a lack of a better word, this past week and few days following have been complete _shit_ for Chloe.

Not only did she have to deal with the over spill of messages from die hard "Bechloe" shippers when they started reading into the lack of pep she has regarding her social media accounts and just _assumed_ her and Beca were broken up, but also, she had to experience four dreadful days without even a simple "hello" text from Beca after their last conversation over the phone.

Ideally, after what was said on her part during the conversation, she should've expected Beca to respect her wishes of time apart because it's just what Beca does. Whatever Chloe wants, Beca gives-that's her motto.

But is she disappointed that Beca hasn't even made the effort, or fight to talk to her? Hell yes, but would she admit that out loud?

Hell no.

But truth is and really no way around it, Chloe can't help but miss Beca. The girl is (or was, who knows) the epitome of a perfect girlfriend, minus that one tiny little thing that Chloe couldn't help but draw the line with, being fed up as a whole with being a second option when it came to Beca's career. But that didn't change the way her head ran miles and miles just thinking of Beca, wishing she could drop a text or hear her voice.

Which is probably why she is curled up on her couch, unopened pint of chocolate moose ice cream that's calling her name to devour sitting directly in her lap and waiting patiently for the opening act of the Billboard Music Awards that's to be performed by Justin Bieber.

Regardless, whether they are broken up, or still together (Chloe really has no clue at this point) she planned on watching the awards tonight, hopefully not letting her emotions outweigh how truly proud she is that Beca has made it this far in her career to land her a spot in one of the performances. Either way, she wanted to give her support, no matter how hard it will be when she sees her girlfriend (ex girlfriend or whatever) walking on television, wearing whatever outfit she has on that will probably take her breath away when she sees it.

"You good?" Chloe glances up from her blanketed cocoon that's covering her neck down and watches Aubrey take the seat next to her on the couch. She has a bowl of freshly popped, buttered popcorn in her right hand and a bag of hot tamales in her left; the perfect combination of hot and buttery that has a special place in Chloe's heart.

Chloe grumbles a weak "yeah," keeping her focus for the most part on the T.V and ripping off the plastic part on the ice cream's lid before diving her spoon straight through the softened middle. The show is minutes away from starting, better get a head start on eating her feelings away now rather than when Beca's face is blown up on her T.V.

Though it is quite odd that neither Beca nor Diplo have made an appearance yet on the carpet. On the contrary, Selena has made an appearance, walking in with date Taylor Swift and causing a full head turned with the long, baby blue dress that molds to every curve on that girl's Latina body.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Aubrey asks in all seriousness, causing Chloe to twist her head away from the screen by the sharp tone.

"It's therapeutic. The more I see her, the less I feel," Chloe pulls this from her ass, knowing damn well all this is doing was making it harder to move on and go five seconds without thinking of the DJ. Chances are, she'll end up balling her eyes out by the end of the show because of how much she misses Beca.

There's absolutely no way in Hell Chloe could possibly feel less when the girl still has her heart locked away back in California.

Aubrey glances at Chloe sideways. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"No."

Which is just childish, if Chloe is being honest. She takes full responsibility that communication works both way and hasn't pulled her weight in trying to contact Beca either, but in her defense, neither has Beca.

All around, it is bizarre that they have gone four full days without even an exchange of a good morning text when over the past three months since meeting, they've talked every second of every day.

It freaking sucked.

"So are you two like….broken up or what? Cause according to Twitter and all the magazine covers that hit me at once during checkout while grocery shopping, Bechloe is long gone." Aubrey questions, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth but still giving Chloe her full attention and sympathy.

The Hell if Chloe knows.

Of course the media would blow their whole separation up, looking into every single detail, which happens to be the constant Taylor Swift lyrics popping up on her Twitter account. During their last phone call, never was it mentioned about a breakup. Yes, Chloe specially asked for sometime apart, maybe save their relationship while Beca gets all her things figured out, but to completely forget about the DJ?

 _Impossible_.

And actually really sickening just to think about.

"We are not broken up," Chloe declares once her thoughts catch up with her mouth and the sudden rage following in tow. Seriously, and excuse her language, _fuck_ the media, and _fuck_ the press for rumoring that they've broken up. Not cool. "We are taking some time apart to…. _regather_ , which I think is very important for Beca to do before things start to get serious-"

Anything that Chloe was about to say next gets sucked straight from her mouth as the reporters live from the red carpet broadcast that a certain DJ has finally made a neck snapping appearance, fashionably late and fashionably jaw dropping.

Cameras switch to a long, blacked out limo, flashes coming in like a strobe light as fans, paparazzi and whoever else attending waits for the mystery DJ to coming strutting out. Then, like a punch to the gut, or a snare drum in the ears, Beca takes her first steps out of that limo and Chloe swears she is looking at the closest thing to an angel one can get.

"Oh _wow_ ," Aubrey gasps as she takes in Beca's outfit and Chloe even thinks a piece of popcorn falls straight from her mouth and into her lap after the way her jaw dropped to the floor.

Chloe doesn't say anything though, half because she is physically incapable of speaking with the way her mouth suddenly dried up and half because…...same. Beca looks _amazing_ , with her hair kinda flowing wavy and pinned to the side, and she's wearing a skin tight white dress that is slitted up one of her thighs, crossed in strips above her chest and _holy Jesus_ Chloe thinks she is having a stroke.

And it's really no shock that adding a random black leather jacket to the get up could make Beca's appearance that much better and that much more hotter.

Typical Mitchell.

And wait, is she wearing a spray tan?

Reporters practically sprint up to Beca for an interview, praying to get one last artist in before show time. Chloe can't blame them; Beca is a show stopper and one of the most highly anticipated artists attending tonight so their eagerness is almost expected. Katy Perry even steals Beca away from posing to take a duo, unprofessional pic, with her hands hovering mindlessly over Beca's cleavage.

Seems like everyone, celeb or not, wanted a chance to take a picture with the new and biggest DJ so far in the industry.

One of the interviewers reels Beca in from the swarm of flashes with a face splitting grin and a simple kiss to each side of her cheeks. "What's happening everybody?! It's your boy, Erik, and we are here live from T-Mobile Arena in the city that never sleeps, with the very lovely and very talented Miss Beca Mitchell!" The interviewer, who happens to be named Erik from MTV announces, earning a roaring applause from the crowd in the background and Beca does this shy little wave that melts Chloe's heart to goo.

Chloe and Aubrey -Chloe more so than anything- sit in awe when watching how famous Beca really is while fans from all over adore her breathing pretty much. Technically, Chloe has been the first to experience the first wave of attention when out in public with Beca, but seeing it on TV and during a broadcasting of a very popular music award show, it is surreal and for the most part insanely neat that Beca has such a large fan base.

"How are you tonight and why on earth are you here...three minutes until showtime?!" he comments after checking the time on his watch.

Beca gives a lighthearted chuckle, eyes sparkling under the makeup, and Chloe thinks she looks more than gorgeous. It hurts though knowing that Beca is out there smiling in a similar way she was use to receiving but now, it seems like Beca is unaffected and happy even without Chloe in her life.

And actually scratch that; it freaking sucks.

A microphone with the MTV symbol makes its way into Beca's hands before she is lifting it up to her mouth to speak. "I'm alright. Could be better" She shrugs her shoulders casually and keeps her beaming smile-though her answer sort of contradicts it. "And you should already know that I'm late to like…..everything. I had to make an entrance, Erik, _come_ on!

He laughs out loud when Beca nudges his shoulder with her's, but sobers pretty fast because there is probably a list of question he needs answered before showtime. "So tonight, sadly, you're not nominated for any of the categories since the album dropped only weeks ago, though majority of the world would second that, claiming you need to win Best Album of the Year." Again, the crowd howls a cheer in the background behind the set up gates and Chloe thinks that she can spot Beca blushing. And God is that adorable. "But you do have a spot with Diplo in tonight's line up for performances. How does it feel?"

Beca blows out a breath, her cheeks puffing up and her eyes widening in a way that shows she is speechless. "Geez, I'm honored for sure. Growing up watching these show religiously, I never expected to one day to be walking the carpet, let alone performing in one. My mom knew, however, so that was my kick start. Words on the other hand just aren't enough to explain how I really feel, but I am truly blessed and also maybe a little starstruck by having my picture taken with Katy Perry."

Erik laughs, nodding his head to agree because _duh_ , it's Katy Perry. Chloe knew how much Beca enjoyed her music and would kill to work with such a talented artist. "Rumor is that Beyonce wants to speak to you."

Eyes doubling in size, "shut the _fu_ ….ront door!" Beca catches herself before the vulgar words makes an appearance on national television and Chloe is unable to keep in the giggle because Beca is such a sailor. "Don't play with me, Erik! I swear to God!" She uses her two fingers and points them in the direction of her eyes before lining them up to Erik, who raises his hands in defense, laughing.

He straightens up, ready to move on but has more of an edge and caution with this next question. "How are you doing mentally?" With the sudden shift in questions, Chloe can see Beca start to stiffen, her smile long gone. "I know your life is kind of rocky right now with the break up and all but-"

"We aren't broken up," Beca interrupts sternly, annoyance lacing the sharp words but she hides it pretty damn well and when hearing this, Chloe feels like she was just brought back to life. Beca removes the microphone from her mouth and leans in to say something privately to Erik, who then nods his head with an apologetic smile.

"Anyways," Erik dangles this and it's strange to watch with the change of topic so sudden, but Chloe studies how Beca instantly lights back up to answer any other questions he has to ask. "So "Closer" has been last month's and probably this month's anthem on the top charts, number one to be exact on iTunes and also the song you'll be performing tonight. Did you ever see it blowing up as big as it did?"

"Psh, of course not, but who really knows anyways? It's a flip of a coin when releasing a single, let alone album so for me, I was just hoping for the best. I have an awesome team behind my back, Diplo, Selena and all the other artists I worked with were amazing in all aspects. No matter where the album landed, it was an experience worth millions being able to produce it."

"I see." Erik nods his head in understanding, looking don't at the white paper in his hands. "You've also gifted the world with your unknown and very impressive vocals. Before, you were known to make mixes on Youtube that became very popular but never once showed your voice via webcam. What changed your mind?"

"Honestly, it was Chloe," Beca says and Chloe thinks she stops breathing at the mention of her name on national television. "I know we aren't on the best of terms when it comes to our relationship and those are reasons I'm not about to go in depth with, but she has been my rock these past months and what to do with the album and when."

Chloe's chest clenches at how sincere Beca sounds when speaking of her. Aubrey sees it, as well as hears it and reaches a hand to grip gently at Chloe's wrist, offering a reassuring smile that Chloe can't help but mirror. Maybe this wasn't the end for them.

"Any plans or juicy details you wanna give the world about up coming projects? Anything new in the making?" Erik urges, hoping to get at least something from the DJ worth starting a feud on Twitter about.

"A new start that's for sure," Beca leaves open ended, smile hinting towards something she wants to keep a secret and won't go into much detail about. Aubrey and Chloe both share equally confused stares at each other as to what she could mean.

Cassidy, dressed majestically, Chloe might add, in a tight, long blue dress, with her hair curled to perfection and also assisted by her cousin, Stacie, who is a walking talking masterpiece, (but what's new?) and sports a laced black dress that falls around mid calf walks up to Beca and the reporter, stealing her away from the interview at the mention of the show starting.

" _Holy crap_ Stacie looks good!" Chloe gushes and can't help but tease Aubrey about the way her mouth is catching flies while staring at her girlfriend through the big screen. Aubrey's response comes out as a scratchy "I know" before Beca waves to the reporter and follows Cassidy around the carpet while the show switches over to a commercial break.

Chloe glances at her phone that sits diagonal from her on the table, contemplating whether or not she should call Beca, maybe wish her luck and how beautiful she looks tonight, or simply just tell her she's watching, cheering her on all the way from Georgia. With the confirmation that the two of them haven't broken up, it makes her feel a little bit better about the situation. Not entirely, but a little.

She decides otherwise though, and takes another spoon full of chocolate ice cream from the container before swallowing it whole. Chances are Beca is too busy to answer, probably doesn't even have her phone on her and plus, she doesn't want to be a hassle when Beca should be focusing on her performance.

Not on a phone call that is destined to whirl up a series amount of emotions not needed.

The show turns back on with Justin Bieber lighting up the stage with a beautifully set, waterwork performance of "Cold Water" and Chloe is already a good few inches deep into her ice cream as the other performances hit the stage, including Ariana Grande, Zayn, who is performing alone for the first time since his split from One Direction and Drake with his newly announced girlfriend, Rihanna. Aubrey and her take bids on who they think is going to win in the different categories and as the awards are announced, whoever lost would take a drink of their wine, which was randomly added to join their night before the show even started.

Cameras keep flashing over to Beca, who is singing along with Stacie and Cassidy to whatever song that is being performed and it happens so much throughout the show that Chloe thinks it's done purposely. Like life is teasing her in the most brutal way hates to admit it but seeing Beca having so much fun, smiling like nothing is wrong and truly enjoying herself is extremely hard to watch.

And call her selfish all you want but she wishes that it was her behind the reason why Beca's smile lights up the entire audience.

Especially when Beyoncé struts her way on stage, burns the house down, literally and figuratively with an amazing set from her new album _Lemonade,_ like the Queen B was expected to do.

Another commercial break shoots through the screen; a Burger King one that is introducing the new Mac and cheese Cheetos things that Chloe can't help but find repulsive and yummy all at the same time. Aubrey gets up to get the other bottle of wine from the kitchen, now that the both of them put quite the dent in the first one. An hour into the awards marks halfway through the BMAs and before break, it was announced that they'd reveal who won best male artist and Beca would be taking the stage, partnered with Diplo for a performance not to miss, according to like…. _everyone_.

To say that Chloe was excited, nervous, and terrified all at the same time for Beca to take the stage and perform not for the first time in front of an audience, but to perform at a show this huge is more than an understatement. She doesn't know whether to laugh, cry, puke or cheer near lunatic when the commercial ends and Beca's performance is seconds away.

"Did I miss anything?" Aubrey basically jogs back into the living room with an unopened bottle of wine, flustered and all.

"No, just in time!" Chloe ushers Aubrey to take a seat quickly, patting the space beside her on the couch to sit down before the both of them end up missing something.

The Weeknd wins best male artist with his song "Starboy" and everything else after to Chloe is pointless. All she needed to see was Beca and seriously, it felt like time was moving in slow motion as she waited impatiently for the DJ to perform. Finally after what felt like years, the cameras switch to The Chainsmokers, who were scheduled to announce Diplo and Beca's performance.

They start to talk once the audience quiets down, lifting each individual microphone up to their mouths till Andrew is speaking. "Lots of you may know her as the girl behind the beats. She dominated the world of social media with her tracks and is now on her way with taking over the world of music with only one album under her belt and one Hell of an exceptional voice."

"Here to perform the song "Closer," which has been number one on the charts since the release date at the end of October, Diplo featuring Beca Mitchell!" Alex adds enthusiastically before the cameras fades away from them and hovers above the darkened stage with the crowd erupting in applause.

Chloe focuses on her breathing, trying her hardest to keep her heart rate steady before she ends up missing the entire performance because she passed out. There is a lot going on in her body; the emotions hitting her at every direction left and right. She's seen Beca perform many times but each time, she wasn't nearly as nervous as she is now. Maybe it is because she never got the chance to give Beca a good luck text or phone call and no matter where they stood relationship wise, she'd never wish for Beca to mess up in any way.

So far though, the stage still remains pitch black; the occasional scream from an audience member echoes the arena, but that's it. There's no music playing, no flashing lights and there's definitely no Beca. Then all of a sudden, the beginning cords of the song start to cue in the darkness, lighting up Diplo's DJ set up on top stage and it's just then, with the unfamiliar pattern of beats that Chloe realizes what song is playing isn't "Closer."

And actually, she has literally no idea what song this is and if it is really Beca performing because she still can't see a damn thing to tell and seriously, what the Hell is going on right now?

" _Fighting flames of fire._

_Hang onto burning wires_

_We don't care anymore_

_Are we fading lovers?_

_We keep wasting colors_

_Maybe we should let this go."_

Beca finally appears singing, changed in the same leather jacket as before, but ditched the dress and settled for tight, and Chloe means _tight_ , black leather pants to match and black heeled boots. Under the jacket is a loose, silky white tank top and overall, Chloe thinks that now she might have a stroke with how ridiculously attractive Beca looks on stage.

Plus add her intoxicating voice and overconfident, stage swagger she has going on and Chloe's a goner.

" _We're falling apart, still we hold together._

_We've passed the end, so we chase forever._

_'Cause this is all we know_

_This feeling's all we know."_

As a whole, the performance is very colorful with the setup of lights and designs being projected in the background behind where Beca is singing. Diplo is controlling the audience, jumping up and down from his deck and mixing the beat to perfection.

"Has this song even been released?" Aubrey is in total shock at this point and completely mindfucked. It also seems like the audience shares similar thoughts as they stand dumbfounded by the unknown song when they originally prepared to sing and dance along to "Closer," the world's new anthem.

Chloe doesn't respond as she is too focused on the screen and then, the lyrics Beca is singing hits her full blast, causing her to raise a hand to her mouth to cover the sharp gasp.

Vaguely in the past, she had brought up the question of Beca writing her own songs rather than co-writing with Diplo and Selena and whenever she did, Beca would usually end up changing the subject, not wanting to bring attention to herself. You know, the usual humble Beca behavior.

But listening now and the amount of emotion Beca is pouring into her singing as she walks around the stage like she was born to do so, there is some strange connection Chloe has towards the lyrics that she just can't seem to shake.

At realization, "Bree, Beca wrote this," Chloe breathes out, flabbergasted that she was even able to get this out and Aubrey snaps her head so fast in disbelief to lock eyes that she thinks it might snap off. She skips the part where she thinks the song is written about her, more so with their relationship than anything really, and though there isn't actual confirmation that this song is even written about her and if Beca actually even wrote the piece but deep down, there's a hunch.

" _I'll ride my bike up to the world_

_Down the streets right through the city_

_I'll go everywhere you go_

_From Chicago to the coast_

_You tell me, "Hit this and let's go_

_Blow the smoke right through the window"_

_'Cause this is all we know."_

And if she was hesitant on the song being written about her before, there is absolutely no way it's not now with the sudden, bright flashing lights lining along the stage and a glowing outline of the shape of Georgia and California pulsing on the stage's megascreen.

All of the words start to make sense to Chloe, though they might not for someone else. Example, the mention of smoking reels Chloe back to the night at the Halloween festival, just her and Beca getting high on life and each other, with also the added guest who goes by the name of marijuana.

" _Chicago to the coast,"_ Georgia to California; it basically means the exact same thing.

" _Falling apart but still holding together,"_ Chloe knows that at the beginning, her and Beca's relationship was indestructible; it was them against the world, with only technology helping them in the process. Their relationship was some sort of fairy tail to other people; a gift people would simply kill for.

But as time went on, so did their individual lives in their own, individual states and because of that, it got harder and harder to keep a stable relationship.

They tried, however.

Boy did they try their hardest to keep it strong, especially with the kind words from fans around the world who followed and looked up to their relationship, but there are things people don't see and that's the problems caused away from technology, the stuff kept secret.

And even though she thinks her and Beca are at their lowest, aware that this could be the end of any romantic, or even platonic relationship they have, something... _something_ that she can't put a finger on is keeping them together; a connection that never dies and still exists through love.

"Oh my…. _God_ ," Chloe gasps out loud, but gets choked up towards the end as the large forming knot in her throat only grows in size.

Tears come immediately once she is done analyzing the lyrics and soaking in the effects on the mega screen where her state, as well as Beca's is bordered by a large, throbbing LED heart. Aubrey is in the process of texting, calling, paging, maybe even emailing Stacie in hopes to get a hold of her girlfriend so she could ask what the Hell Beca's was doing right now, but receives zero response from all of them.

Confusion is no longer seen in the crowd as they're now dancing along to the new song, having the most fun in the world despite never hearing it before. Colored smoke shoots up from certain points on the stage at the next drop of the song and then Selena, who makes a surprise appearance, comes out from somewhere unknown on stage and takes over the next verse, dancing up to Beca and earns a series of borderline, _manic_ screams from the crowd at her entrance.

They sing the chorus over again, adding a whole new light show to the stage and Beca ends the set with a point up to the ceiling, something she always does after she's done singing. The music fades, as well as the rainbow of lights before the entire arena returns to pitch black, leaving the crowd to stand and roar the loudest applause of the night.

There's also a distinct shape of Georgia's state that is the only light shown throughout the darkness.

"You really need to call her," Aubrey breaks Chloe out of her trance towards the screen with the sound of her demanding voice. Chloe is paralyzed, _of course_ , and can't even form the words to reply nor make the move to reach for her phone and dial Beca's number. "I really can't stand the midget right now, but after performance like that, there needs to be some explanation." Still froze in place, not even a muscle flinching to make the effort to move, Chloe sits gaping at the TV.

When Aubrey catches this, she gives a helping hand to push Chloe directly off her ass, tossing her the unused iPhone on the table and gives clear and stern orders to call Beca immediately. Being extremely terrified of Aubrey when she puts her foot down, Chloe takes a step out of the living room and to the backyard where Tank comes running out from his little house set up and takes a squat right next to her feet.

If being completely honest, Chloe doesn't really know what just happened in regards to Beca's performance. One minute she is set to perform a popular song, the next she is singing an unreleased one, changing the numbers, lyrics and performance as a whole, leaving everyone speechless.

And with the added hints in the background Beca set up, everything inside Chloe's head on what and what not to think is pretty much a blur so how was she suppose to call Beca and ask what just happened when in reality, she doesn't have a single clue either.

Needless to say, she doesn't call Beca immediately and in fact, stares dumbfounded at the contact name, waiting for some sort of miracle to happen so she isn't the one putting in all the effort. Weirdly enough, her phone rings, scaring half to death by the sudden noise, like she was waiting for a kernel to pop over a fire and finds out seconds later Beca is calling her.

She limits her freak out to only three rings, not wanting to dwell too much just in case she ends up missing the call entirely. Slowly, she lifts the device up to her ear, heart thumping aggressively against her chest and can feel her pulse inside her throat.

"Beca?" she says quietly. Never has she been this scared to answer a call and hear her girlfriend's voice. Now however, she doesn't know what to expect coming from this conversation when the last one was comes to mind and was a conversation Chloe would love to forget even happened.

" **Hi,"** Came Beca's out of breath response. Did she just run a marathon? Either way, hearing Beca's voice for the first time in four days brings an immediate smile to her face while that placebo feeling warms up her insides.

"Hi," she echoes, not knowing what else to say. Her body is buzzing with anxiety and Tank is looking up at her from where he sits at her feet empathetically, probably wondering what's happening as well.

Beats her though.

" **What are you doing?"** Beca keeps it casual, her voice already returning back to normal as questions only afloat briefly as to why Beca isn't watching the rest of the award show.

Taken back by the flow of the conversation when they literally haven't even communicated in any way, shape or form for the past four days, Chloe, to say the least is baffled. The wounds are still there and they're still fresh.

Not wanting to cover the problem instead of talking about if first, "Beca-"

" **Listen,"** Beca politely cuts Chloe off. " **I'm sorry. I've been a total dick these past few weeks, blowing you off for work and then the whole Tom thing."** The mention of this brings instant rage back into Chloe's body, how Beca could think she'd ever do something like that to her. " **I was an asshole and you have every right to be upset with me."**

"It's alright. Work is important and something you kind of need to do," Chloe keeps her voice level, trying hard not to make the pain she felt being pushed away to the side in Beca's life obvious.

" **You're important too Chlo, even more than work, money, fame and all that other stuff."** Chloe closes her eyes, overwhelmed by the flutters going on in her stomach. It's a feeling she missed the most when talking to Beca. " **Of course I realized this a lot later than I should've and that's why I'm apologizing for being number one in the dick department. But no way around it, you're my world, Chloe, and experiencing a couple days without you was miserable."**

Emotions going absolutely haywire, Chloe sits giddy while listening to Beca talk. Playing with Tank's ears as she stays seated on the back porch, she's about to say something on her part but Beca continues.

" **I know I have commitments when it comes to work, especially now more than ever, but I have commitments when it comes to you as well. You see, I live a fucking great life. I hang out with celebrities on a daily basis, I live in the heart of Los Angeles in a super sweet with my best friend. For Christ sakes I'm really fucking rich and all this is just a start!"**

Beca pauses for a second with a maniac chuckle and Chloe has no idea where this conversation is going. It seems like Beca just called to gloat, which is something pointless since all Chloe has to do is listen to any radio station, or check out at a grocery store to visually see how famous Beca really is.

" **And yes, this is a life I've dreamt of for majority of my life, but it's also a life that doesn't have you in it as much as I would like. So, that's why I'm moving to Atlanta because a life without Chloe Beale isn't a life worth living, no matter how much money, or how much success I have."**

"What?" Chloe near screeches this, unable to believe that Beca is willing to drop everything in L.A. just to move states, especially for her. "Beca, no…...I can't let you do that! You have your career to think about and...and y-your job is in California!"

" **Not anymore,"** Beca answers, keeping a calm tone. " **I'm released from my contract with Atlantic, have been since yesterday morning. There's a smaller record label in Atlanta that I've scooped out and have been in contact via email. Being familiar with my work done with Diplo and my mixes on YouTube, they offered me a position to work with newly upcoming artists, just until Emily Junk, who I created "Flashlight" with graduates college and then, she'd be my new project."**

Trapped under the levels of disbelief blanketing her body, keeping her locked in the mind set of in denial, "you're moving to Georgia?" Chloe repeats incredulously. "What about Jojo? Don't you have her album?"

" **I was meaning to tell you before everything blew up that Roger took over that album since I've officially decided to go on tour with Diplo during springtime. Also, I've decided to move across the country so yeah….that's not a thing anymore."**

"I-I…." Chloe is at a lost for words, which is expected since Beca just dropped Hiroshima on her. This can't be happening, she tries to tell herself this. It was one thing when Beca came down to visit, bringing an elicit amount of happiness to Chloe's body, but the small thought of Beca living in the same state as her is almost too much to handle. "I don't...I just...I," she is making absolutely zero sense every time she tries to speak but still she attempts to say something back.

Taking that Chloe is unable to say anything that's not gibberish, " **Chloe, I love you with all my heart and though this distance thing was kinda fun while it lasted, I'm sick of not waking up next to you every morning. It's like, once you get a taste of sleeping with someone special, you'll never want to sleep alone again,"** Beca explains and okay, that was deep and isn't much of a shock that Chloe is seconds away from crying. " **But don't think I'm forcing you to move in with me just yet, Beale. I've been reading Glamour."** Chloe thinks she can hear Beca's smirk through the line, even under the sniffles that have appeared with their own set of tears.

She chuckles and it comes out wet and groggy, no thanks to the sudden crying. But even then, they're happy tears, filled with a missing component over the weeks Beca had been absent. "Glamour magazine?" Beca hums in response and Chloe gives another watery chuckle. "You hate reading magazines, especially magazines that scream materialistic."

" **I know, but I needed help."** Chloe discards the thought on why Beca opted to a magazine for help, deciding to stay quiet while Beca explains. " **And what I found was that relationships are ready for the next step when a couple has a major fight and survives it. I call these past four days a major fight between us, to the point where breaking up was contemplated, but there's something there that tells me neither of us want that to happen. Am I right?"**

Briefly, Chloe's body flinches at the mention of breaking up but she rolls her eyes, smiling. "Yeah….yeah you are," she admits genuinely. "My life would suck without you."

" **These days not talking to you sucked. I missed you like crazy and I never want to go through that again. So, I've been looking at a small, but cozy, nice suburb house in Atlanta that I'm going to check out this Monday when I fly down to see you and your school performance."**

"You're coming to my concert?" Chloe feels another tickle in her nose as the next wave of tears hits her like a semi truck. For someone who is anti climatic, this stunt sure is a romantic, movie type ending. _Goddammit Beca._

" **Wouldn't miss it for the world,"** Beca declares, tugging Chloe's cheeks up so high her face is starting to burn. " **Wouldn't miss it even for Beyoncé."**

Chloe giggles, knowing Beca is a total fan girl when it involves Beyoncé. Still unable to wrap her head around the idea of Beca moving down to Georgia, Chloe shakes her head with skepticism. "You hate Georgia," she says, knowing Beca could only complain about the face melting heat when she first arrived in Atlanta.

" **I fucking hate Georgia, the stupid humidity, the gigantic mutant bugs and the lack of beaches, but you're in Georgia and I fucking love you, so that kinda makes it tolerable."**

Chloe rolls her eyes as the tears continue to fall; Beca is such a romantic.

This is really happening; Chloe settles, even taking action to pinch herself just in case all this was her conscience playing a dirty prank on her. With the pain that comes by doing this, there's also a wave of happiness that fills her body, then a jolt of electricity that spreads across her body at the image of Beca and her sharing a home together.

"Your performance," Chloe sobers a little bit, remembering the show and how Beca just confused the living life, yet thrilled the entire world by. "What was that about?"

" **You,"** Comes Beca's one worded response. " **I had a lot of pent of emotions after our phone call and what better way than to write a song about it. Just ask Adele."**

"So you did write that song?" Chloe praises herself with knowing without _actually_ knowing.

" **Yep. It was Dip and Selena's idea to put a pen in my hand and a piece of paper in front of my face and all it took was a night of pouring out my emotions through lyrics while Diplo created a sick beat. We didn't want to release it though and keep the act that we were still performing "Closer." Have you checked Twitter lately?"**

"No, should I?"

" **Definitely not,"** Beca is quick to answer, a clear warning to Chloe that she isn't messing around. " **We may or may not be trending on Twitter right now, thanks to the my obvious performance that was dedicated to you."**

Chloe barks a laugh, mostly in shock that she is currently trending on a social platform. She lolls her head back and hearing on the other end Beca doing the same. "How long do I have you this time?"

" **Well Monday, when you pick me up, you have till the day after Christmas, which I hope to spend with you and your family and hopefully by then, I'll have a house picked out. If that's the case, I plan on moving and being settled by mid January. Then once all that is taken care of, does forever sound good to you?"**

The amount of detail and how planned Beca already is only adds to how surreal the idea seems and to Chloe, this sounds better than good.

It sounds perfect.

"I can't believe we are actually doing this."

" **Same,"** Beca snorts, amazed. " **Being under the spotlight was fun while it lasted and of course, I expect to fall back in, eventually, but for now, I wanna step out of the radar and live a casual, domesticated life with you, that is if you want,"** she says sincerely. Aubrey checks on Chloe after a while and all she can do in return is flaunt her puffy, red eyes in the general direction of where her friend is standing and smile so wide the corners of her mouth touch her ears.

"I don't want you to do something you'll regret later on. This is….Beca, moving is not permanent, but still it's a fairly large leap that a lot of thought should be taken in."

" **Babe, I've already thought about all of this and honestly, I'd travel two thousand miles for you any day if it meant for us to be happy. I'm tired of technology being our only form of communication. I want to kiss you, all the time, especially your chin kisses. I want to hug you and just be around you physically. I just hope there's enough room down in Georgia for Buttercup and I."**

Chloe thinks she has hit her peak at how insanely happy she could feel for the night. Beca would be moving to Georgia; the two thousand miles keeping them apart would be long gone and the girl she is absolutely head over heels for would finally be an arm's distance away.

And though this isn't guaranteed a problem free life; a relationship without any bumps in the roads. But as long as she has Beca by her side the rest of the journey and not on the other side of the country, what more could she ask for?

"I'm sure we could make some room."


	21. New Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, I teared up writing this last chap guys. It's just, you get so involved in a story and have built up this connection that once it's finally over, it's like your world is sort of ending. I cannot thank you guys enough for all the reviews, reads, follows, messages and favorites. You all make my world go round and keep me going. I hope this was as fun for you as it was for me; I'll truly miss writing this story :(  
> Follow me on Tumblr, omacagee!  
> And I hope you enjoy this final installment you beautiful souls you :)
> 
> Music used:  
> Yellowclaw- Invitation  
> Mike Perry- The Ocean
> 
> (I DO NOT OWN PITCH PERFECT OR SONGS MENTIONED)

_**Saturday January 21, 11:07 AM (California Time)** _

"I **cannot** believe you're actually leaving," Stacie full on whines as she opens the trunk to her SUV and helps Beca take out her bags. This time, unlike before when there was only a smaller duffel bag and maybe a carry on backpack Beca has two, very large suitcases with clothes and other valuables that she didn't feel comfortable delivering in the U Haul truck all the way down to Georgia.

Beca slides on her aviators and reverses the snapback on her head before exiting the vehicle and taking a few of the bars out of Stacie's hands. She blows out a puff of air before taking a glance at LAX; a place that she no longer has to take every other month to fly down to Hartsfield and see her girlfriend for however long she is granted.

Now, she is leaving for good and though it's been an exact month since she had made her decision to resign from Atlantic, pack her things up and move down to Georgia so she could be closer to Chloe, a girl who has stolen her heart for the better, the thought of it all actually coming true hasn't wrapped around her head just yet.

It still felt like she'd be staying with Chloe for a couple days, only to fly back to California for her job, or school, or because her blissful time she had in Atlanta has ran up but this time, it isn't just a couple days.

It's way longer- _forever_ if she is lucky and that thought excites her to no other.

Attention is drawn to Beca as she stands outside of Stacie's truck, even with her camouflage hat and glasses that are doing absolutely nothing in hiding her identity from the rest of the world as cameras start to flash and whispers are heard around her between groups. With her special Billboard Music Award performance and the hype about an unreleased single from the highly rising music producer, who's voice, along with the talent to write songs came afloat, Beca's name blew up to a maximum.

Also with a post from Atlantic who hosted a goodbye party and uploaded pictures that announced that Beca was leaving, not for good but for a while, people started assuming that she was leaving for Chloe and also the inevitable rumor starters claimed that Beca was unhappy at Atlantic since they tried to produce her written song and break contract, which is such a big fat lie it's truly unbelievable that someone would even come up with that.

Seeing all this extra attention though, Beca ignores them for the most part; her main focus is on her best friend who was hands down the hardest to leave. For years, they've been inseparable-two peas in a pod. Stacie has been there for Beca through thick and thin and knowing they'll have the extra thousand miles keeping them apart is more than a little unsettling.

"We had a good run," Beca replies; the flashes from the few cameras present are more than a little distracting and honestly, very annoying, especially during a time as serious as this. One thing she likes the most about Georgia is that there aren't paparazzis in her face twenty four seven and she for the most part-or as much as she can- get some privacy.

"We had a _great_ run," Stacie corrects and doesn't waste any second before enveloping Beca tight into her embrace. "I'm so proud yet so bummed that you're leaving. Residual Heat sure earned themselves a rare piece I must say," she mumbles into Beca's hair where her face is smushed up against and Beca's heart clenches at the realization she is leaving her best friend.

This isn't something Beca planned to happen as she leaves Los Angeles; the tears that have made an appearance once she saw Stacie starting to cry. She hated crying, more than anything in the world and she never really let her emotions show around others, but it wasn't until she met Chloe that everything changed when and how she showed her true feelings.

And in fact, Chloe change a lot of how Beca thought about things, such as moving across the country for a new territory for her called love.

Before, she wouldn't admit it out loud but _her_ well-being, _her_ music, _her_ success and how _she_ lived _her_ life was her only priority. Self absorbed is a good word for this, and it's painful to think of her being categorized as someone selfish, but then along comes Chloe and like a Goddamn magic trick, she's able to change Beca for the better.

It's fucking crazy honestly.

They soak in silence and don't even dare to flinch a muscle as doing that would hint they're finished with the hug, which they are most definitely not. Beca doesn't know how long they are clinged together before Stacie pulls away, eyes red and puffy, nose stuffy from snot and still she's as flawless and attractive as ever. Beca slings her duffel bag from the ground onto her shoulders after she wipes the few tears under her glasses and is glad no one can snap a photo of how rough she probably looks just under them with all the crying.

Her butt gets a playful tap from Stacie as she turns her body to the sliding doors leading into the airport and security and Stacie is smirking back at her with sunglasses now covering her reddened eyes, waving her off to start a brand new life. She gives Stacie a bold nod, knowing there is nothing left to say and her flight is calling name for departure.

"Text me loser!" Stacie yells across her truck through a rolled down window when she gets in, causing Beca to stop just before the doors.

Beca gives a salute and her signature smirk before taking a look back at the doors that holds her future while Stacie drives off into the passenger drop off traffic. Not only does these doors hold her future, but they hold her new future with Chloe, and this moment of just staring blankly at the sliding doors, dodging the people who are rushing in and out, it's her one chance to back out. Is she even going to enjoy living in Georgia? Will her job there be as successful as her job in California?Will she fit into the crowd there instead of the constant walking hipsters that roam the streets of Los Angeles?

For all those questions, she has absolutely no _freaking_ idea.

But the one thing she can answer is that even though all these may fail and Georgia fucking sucks the living life out of her, she'll be there with Chloe.

And that's really the only answer she needs to hold her head up high and walk boldly through those sliding doors, saying goodbye to her crazy life back here in L.A and hello to her new life with the person she is head over heels for.

 _Out with the old, in with the new,_ she thinks to herself, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth and only gets larger when she prints out her boarding pass. .

Security goes by in a blink of an eye, thanks to being a celebrity and waiting in those dreadful lines is now history. Her stomach rumbles in hunger as she walks through the airport, giving the occasional fan an autograph and or picture she soon gets tagged in on Twitter almost immediately after taking it. This morning was more on the busy side of how her week has gone; she had to make sure everything needed from the apartment was being sent to Atlanta and had to say a million "goodbyes" before she left. Doing all that left zero room for food, which is a necessity for this five brutal hours.

And though there's a Panda Express across the terminal of the airport, practically screaming her name for some orange chicken and those delicious egg rolls they fry up, her stomach, on the other hand, would be screaming her name in a way different manner that would soon hate life once there is the slightest bit of turbulence on the plane. So, and coincidentally directly next to Panda Express is a small snack shop that she ops for, knowing her stomach would be thanking her later.

Feeling her phone go off in her pocket as she waits in line for a quick snack before her flight, it's amazing how sickly giddy her body reacts when she sees Chloe's contact name.

_**Saturday January 21, 11:23 AM (California Time)** _

_C: Hey baby :) You get through security and everything alright?_

**B: Yep, just did actually.**

**B: Now I'm on a hunt for some coffee.**

_C: Maybe you should eat something. Get something easy on the stomach and not just caffeine lol_

**B: Waiting in line to get a fruit salad as we speak :-)**

**B: Thanks for always caring about me though**

_C: That's what I'm here for! ;)_

_C: How was Stacie? Aubrey told me she's been a complete mess for the past month. It would be hard leaving Aubrey, so I can only imagine how Stacie feels._

**B: Yeah….that sums her up pretty well haha. Leaving was extremely hard, we grew up together. I considered her my family regardless of blood. It's just crazy that for the first time since elementary school, I won't see her every day.**

_C: I understand. You sure you want to do this? Last chance to back out. I'm be totally okay if we are jumping the gun with this arrangement._

**B: You already trying to get rid of me? ;-)**

_C: Of course not! I'd be completely out of my mind if I wouldn't want you all to myself!_

_C: But it's a huge change. Ginormous even! I just don't want you to regret anything when you move down here._

**B: Chlo..**

**B: I've told you many times before and I'm about to tell you again, I've never been more sure about something in my entire life. I bought a sick house away from the city. Secluded, just how I like it. I still have a kick ass job making music with a boss that is kind of intimidating but nonetheless still awesome. And I have you nearby, and not just having you through a computer screen, or on the other line of a phone call.**

**B: I have your actual human form in a fifteen minute drive instead of a five hour plane ride. What more could I ask for?**

_C: I'm not going to scare you away? Maybe over cuddle you, or mess up one night on dinner? I have a habit of leaving my clothes around my room…. But I always do my laundry!_

**B: And I suck at doing dishes, but love cooking dinner, especially for my girlfriend. I hate doing laundry and have a habit of eating junk food in my bed.**

**B: Everyone has their faults but the thing with you and I is that we balance each other out.**

**B: The only thing that would freak me out is if stuck gum under the coffee table, or started watching me sleep at night.**

_C: Yeah about that..._

**B: Shut the Hell up!**

_C: Lol! Just kidding!_

_C: I can't wait to see you :)_

**B: And I can't wait to see YOU.**

**B: Can you believe this is actually happening? In five hours, I'll be living in the same state as you.**

_C: Crazy huh? I've been waiting months for this day and finally, my wish has came true :)_

**B: I love you :-)**

**B: How's my baby?**

_C: I love you too :)_

_C: And I'm great! Just cleaned the house, soon I'm going with Aubrey to the store before we start dinner and I leave to pick you up at the airport :)_

**B: Oh awkward….**

**B: I was so talking about Buttercup**

_C: You were not! Lol_

**B: Yea I was ;-)**

_C: Whatever, jerk ;)_

_C: She's fine, Tank is still all over her. They're the best of buddies :) Your car is also moved and parked in your garage so you have it when you get here :)_

**B: Ughhhnn you're the best. I knew I kept you around for a reason**

_C: You sure it isn't because of the great sex we have? ;)_

_C: And my phenomenal back rubs ;)_

**B: I mean, that helps.**

**B: A lot**

**B: But I mostly keep you around because you're my favorite and my life would be complete shit without you in it :-)**

_C: Oh so romantic Ms. Mitchell ;)_

**B: Back on the conversation about sex tho…**

**B: Wanna Christen my place the right way when I land? You know, I bought a house with a jacuzzi on purpose.**

**B: Also a California king that has your name written all over it...**

_C: And what about dinner? ;) You do know that once we start, I won't be able to stop._

_C: We found this out the hard way during Christmas Day down in Tampa when my parents specifically told us to be ready for opening presents at nine but didn't actually get out of bed until noon._

_C: And that was only because my brothers threatened to tease the living life out of the both us and that was something that just couldn't happen with my parents around, who still believe we are two saints lol_

**B: NOT my fault. Waking up next to you just…. gets me in the mood. Plus, what better nutrition to have in the morning other than some good ol' morning sex?**

**B: It definitely woke us up that's for sure.**

_C: Yeah, with the way you were screaming my name, I'm surprised you didn't wake up the entire ocean ;)_

_C: Not to brag or anything…_

**B: Haha that is so bragging and guess what? I can't even lie to that, so kudos for you.**

_C: Oh I know baby ;)_

**B: So what do you say?**

**B: Let's make like the sunset and I'll go down on you**

_***New Text Message From Stacie Conrad*** _

_**Saturday January 21, 11:44 AM** _

_Stacie: I miss you already! :((((_

**B: Stopppppp Stace. I've already cried enough today. Anymore and I'll shrivel up.**

_S: I just passed a Cafe Rio and had to pull over and cry because it reminded me of you :(_

_S: Who am I going to pig out on burritos and chips and salsa with? Who am I going to force to watch movies with me even though all she does is complain the whole time? Who is going to cook for me after a long day of classes?_

_S: What am I going to do without you munchkin? :(_

**B: Fucking Stacie. How dare you make me tear up AGAIN while I am waiting in line for my latte. Coffee is suppose to bring people happiness not sadness.**

**B: You'll be just fine without me.**

_S: How do you know? :(_

**B: Because you're a lot stronger than me and Aubrey will be up there in like what… a couple months? March?**

**B: That's not too far away.**

_S: She actually agreed to move up here at the end of March instead mid April, just so she can get settled before her dental classes start up again._

**B: See? Soon you'll have your girlfriend up there with you ;-)**

_S: I guess you're right. I just….I'm not good at being alone. I'm a needy person and you always got me what I wanted, whether it was simple like comfort or made me food :(_

**B: You'll see me next month dude. I'll be there for the Grammys.**

_***3 New Messages from Chloe Beale*** _

_**Saturday January 21, 11:53 AM** _

_Chloe: Very impressive line Mitchell ;)_

_Chloe: I have been feeling a little….restless without you here._

_C: New Year's Eve you really showed your stamina ;)_

**B: Oh trust me, you haven't seen nothing yet.**

_***New Message From Stacie Conrad*** _

_**Saturday January 21, 11:55 AM** _

_S: Oh that's right! I can't believe you're nominated for best new artist as a music producer and Diplo's album is up for best new album!_

**B: Dude, you and I both.**

_S: Think you'll win?_

**B: Grammy or no Grammy, I'm honored to be nominated. It's such a blessing honestly.**

**B: Also pretty fucking surreal.**

_S: I'm so proud of you, Becs. Seriously, you're such an inspiration. Not many can say they have such a talented, humble person to call their best friend at the end of the day._

**B: Thanks Stace :-)**

**B: I know once you get through all those years of school to become a Nuclear Engineer, you're going to do great in life. You've already proven it so far with the size of your brain, nerd.**

_S: Thanks boo :)_

_S: But ugh, soooooo many years of school!_

_S: At least if I ever want to drop out I'll have Aubrey to make the big bucks and keep our house up and running ;)_

**B: I still can't believe you guys are getting a house together. I mean, I saw it coming because you two are perfect for each other but….damn.**

_S: You have no room to talk because once Aubrey moves out, Chloe is moving in with you!_

**B: But that's different. Weren't you the one who always told me my relationship with Chloe was an anomaly?**

_S: Yes, and it still holds true today. When's the wedding?_

**B: Haha Shut up.**

**B: Definitely can't answer that, but what I can say a wedding won't happen until all this hype from the album calms down and I'm done touring with Dip**

_S: Especially now with rumors floating around the media about you working on a solo EP ;)_

**B: Jesus, things travel around so fast. It's like….I perform one song at the BMAs and people automatically assume I'm going to drop my own personal album the next day.**

_S: Technically you are…._

_S: Gonna write a song about me? ;)_

**B: Haha you wish loser.**

_S: What time do you board again?_

**B: 12:36**

_S: Booooo not enough time to swing by and kidnap you :(_

_***New Message From Chloe Beale*** _

_C: Is that a threat, Mitchell?_

**B: It could be.**

**B: But knowing my affect on a certain redhead you'll be asking for it.**

_C: You're on a roll this morning ;)_

_C: These five hours apart is going to be awful, no thanks to you._

_C: Thinking about seeing you makes me horny_

_***New Message From Stacie Conrad*** _

_S: I love Chloe, but I love you even more and wouldn't mind stealing you for the rest of your life._

**B: Trust me Stace, not living together won't mean you'll never see me again. Actually, you'll see me so much you might actually get sick of me.**

_S: Impossible :)_

_S: Alright well, I'm going to start driving again. Hopefully this time I won't see anything that reminds me of you :( Call me when you land? And tell gingy that I say hi!_

**B: Will do punk.**

_S: Love you my munchkin!_

**B: Ugh, love you too**

_**Saturday January 21, 12:03 PM** _

**B: Oh yeah?**

**B: Wanna know a secret?**

**B: I really want my fingers inside of you**

_Stacie: Yo B, I respect your sense of adventure and colorful language but seriously, keep your sexting with Chloe to yourself._

_Stacie: Kudos on the line tho. You sly dog ;)_

**B: Oh shit! I'm texting both of you at the same time!**

**B: My bad…**

* * *

_**Wednesday January 25, 4:03 PM (Georgia Time)** _

" **How you doing kiddo?"**

Beca sighs out loud and full of exhaustion, wiping her brow from the droplets of sweat she worked up as she put together her coffee table. Moving hasn't been as much of a struggle as she was expecting it would be. Chloe ended up picking her up from the airport Saturday afternoon when she arrived, fed her like the world's best girlfriend and had a relaxing night in together, joined by the one and only Aubrey Posen.

The next day was more on the hectic side since the U-Haul truck was scheduled to arrive around noon at her new house and she'd be drowned with items up to her neck that she had to unpack. With the help of Chloe and Aubrey though, whenever they were free from dental school assignments, or rearranging student plans for upcoming classes, Beca was able to get the most of her stuff unpacked and settled accordingly in her brand new crib. Now, while Chloe is busy at school with her student teaching, she only has to unpack the little stuff like clothes and dishes and hopefully comes tonight, she'd be box free and organized.

Beca slumps away from the table she is currently building like Bob the Builder and finds her new set of leathered couches just ordered from American furniture and molds her body into the material when she lays down. "I'm breaking a sweat that's for sure," she breathes out, embarrassingly winded but ridiculously comfortable. _Wow, these couches are impressive_ she concludes as this is the first time since she arrived in Georgia that she actually took a break and sat in them. Majority of the time spent here so far has been at Chloe's, more specifically her bed, which isn't too much of a shock.

Good thing she didn't have _that_ much to unpack, or that would take up the next week before she got to done anything remotely fun.

" **You got everything moved over?"**

Taking a gander at the few boxes scattered around the room she has left to unpack, "yeah, I mean for the most part. I still have a few boxes here and there filled with junk and God knows what, but it won't take too long for those to get taken care of." Beca snickers at the memory of Stacie calling her a hoarder as the girl watched everything from behind as she packed up her things back in California. Flannels, posters, junk CD's and boxes of unopened, or ruined pieces of technology for her phone and laptop might not be important to keep around, especially to carry state to state but for her, she just couldn't just throw them away.

It's the little things in life that mean the most, as cheesy and movie cliche as that sounds.

Beca's dad laughs, probably agreeing with her thoughts as he knows from experience that his daughter is more of a saver than a giver. Just ask her middle school bedroom. Half the time he didn't know she had a floor under all her junk.

" **How's Georgia treating you so far? A little bit different than L.A. I can assume."**

Wasn't that an understatement that was.

Beca's eyes still haven't adjusted to the lack of buildings, replaced with trees that had mutant sized bugs crawling up them and the fact that if she wanted to skip out on work, or just have a relaxing day at the beach, she wouldn't be able to, especially since the closest beach is probably hitting Florida.

North Carolina maybe? South?

Who knows.

Beca may be a high rising music producer and a BMA show stopping performer while being best new artist in the running for a Grammy, but even with all that going on, she is still horrible at geography and chances are, she's not going to get any better.

Either way though, beach or no beach and extreme high heat temps that leaves her permanently sweating from the humidity, Chloe is here with her and there's nothing in the whole world she'd trade that for.

"You know," Beca shrugs her shoulders, though she knows her father can't see the action. She also positions the phone in between her shoulder and ear while she plays with the silver ring around her thumb. "Georgia isn't too bad. I get way less attention down here than I did back in L.A that's for sure."

" **Which is shocking since I can't turn on the radio without hearing a song you produced or your name floating around oh so casually. Also, you've started quite the wildfire with all the rumors you teased your fans about a possible upcoming album in the makings."**

Beca laughs at this, not really meaning to start a fuss around the music industry and only briefly stunned with how "in the loop" her dad was in the media. Back the , the Billboards was a prime time to not only win Chloe back, but to also show the world a slim taste of her true capabilities when it comes to creating music. What really took the world by storm was a private jam session her and Chloe had during her month long vacation in Georgia where she didn't realizes that while she was revealing some new lyrics to her girlfriend that Chloe was recording the entire thing. Then the suggestion of posting a snippet of the song and leaving it at that without explanation, she agreed to it.

The demands of signing Chloe to a record deal since she was the one singing as well in these demos and didn't take a neurosurgeon to realize Chloe had a pretty damn good voice soon faded away when Beca came out and told them it wasn't going to happen, but would surprise them every once in awhile with a duet sung together. This though was the match to the rumors which then from there only blew up as the months went on.

The least Beca could do was give the world what the wanted.

"Still not set in stone about an album, maybe EP for sure. But who knows how busy I'll be at Residual."

" **When do you start at your new company?"**

"Keegan, my boss, gave me till tomorrow to get settled and then on Friday we have a meeting together with my new team, signing the contracts, meeting with an artist that I'm supposedly working with and all that fun stuff," Beca explains with a smile. After all this time being away from studios and only having her laptop like the good ol' days- though it's been nice not being cooped up in a studio- she is pretty excited to finally start working again. Plus, Keegan seems laid back and a pretty chill guy, though Roger, who still contacts her daily asking how she is doing in Georgia will forever be her favorite boss.

" **That's awesome Becs,"** Warren says, the sincerity dripping from his tone and it makes Beca feel warm inside. Their relationship may have started off a little bumpy at the start, but over the last couple months, the bond that Beca would've never expected to be built back up has been only getting stronger and stronger by the day with the amount of phone calls she and her dad now share on a daily basis. " **Well I was just calling to check up. You and Chloe still up for dinner tonight?"**

Beca lights up at this, completely forgetting that she had dinner plans with Chloe and her father tonight at a local pizzeria that has worked it's way up to being one of her favorites. They scheduled it a couple weeks ago, when Beca was still living in LA but Warren has been dying to get some more time with his daughter and her girlfriend.

"Yeah totally. She's at work right now but I'm almost positive she has nothing important going on tonight."

Like the world knew she was being talked about, Chloe's name appears on Beca's screen when she hear the beep through the line that she was getting a call. Smiling at the contact name briefly before returning the phone back up to her ear, "that's actually her calling me right now. Six for tonight?"

" **Yep that's perfect,"** Her father agrees and Beca jots it down mentally in her head so she doesn't forget this time around. That is something she's notorious for. " **I'll see you guys soon then. Tell Chloe I said hey."**

"Will do. See ya pops." Ending the call, she switches over to Chloe's name to answer, sitting up from the couch as all her energy from unpacking is now restored. "Hey trouble."

_**Wednesday January 25, 4:16 PM** _

" _Hey baby,"_ Chloe greets in her chipper, bubbly tone that can't help but bring a smile to Beca's face. She has been trapped at work all day and even though Beca saw her this morning for an early breakfast, she couldn't help but to miss her girlfriend almost a scary amount. " _How's unpacking going?"_

She blows out a puff of air, scanning the living room of the few unopened boxes she had left to dig through, the same amount she had when on the phone with her dad. "It's….going." Beca knows that even though she doesn't have much left over, it will still take a pretty good chunk of her time to get through. "I could use my really strong girlfriend to come help me finish though," Beca smirks hinting this to Chloe, who giggles, but starts to stand and heads over to the boxes to get a head start at putting some dents into the unpacking process. The quicker she gets done, the better.

" _I already helped you with all the heavy stuff, what else could there possibly be to finish?"_

Seeing the chance left wide open to grab, "oh weird. I wasn't talking about finishing the packing. I was more hinting towards the type of _finish_ that requires my new mattress and a very needed test run. You know, make sure it's-"

" _Sturdy?"_ Chloe finishes and with Beca's hum confirmation, she erupts with a contagious laugh that has Beca smiling like a complete fool. The teasing like this that she is able to do with Chloe never gets old and she hopes it never does. " _I cannot believe you just said that."_

Beca joins the laughter, "You have to give it to me that it was clever."

" _Eh, kinda. Not one of your best lines but mediocre at best."_

"My jokes may be dry but I can sure make you wet."

Boom. Beca gives herself a high five for that one because let's be real, _that_ was really fucking good. And by the obvious hitch in Chloe's breathing is a clear confirmation that she thought so as well.

" _Okay, better, but I've heard you drop even better lines. I have high standards, babe."_

Despite the large smile on her face that becomes permanent whenever she is talking to Chloe, Beca rolls her eyes, throwing useless crap from the box on the couch to separate. Off the line, Tank is heard barking from the backyard, letting Beca know that he is done doing his duties outside and is ready to come back inside. Beca walks to the back to let him in and as she gets to the door, the last bark is heard by Chloe.

" _Is that Tank?"_ Chloe asks as Beca reaches down to pat the side of his belly before closing the door completely once he is fully inside. Instead of answering, Beca switches the call to speaker and makes baby noises to Tank in effort to make him bark so he could talk to Chloe for himself. Not doing this for too long, Tank releases a boisterous bark into the device with his tongue hanging out, panting, and Beca can hear the obnoxious gushy noises from Chloe on the other line.

" _Hey baby! Mommy misses you! Are you being a good boy for Beca? I bet you are!"_ This goes on for God knows however long; Beca isn't too sure but can't take a rough guess that it should've been cut a long time ago.

"No it's cool. I'm here too," Beca scoffs taking offence that she is now left out but Chloe proceeds to ignore her and only talk to Tank, who is only making weird grunting noises into the phone. On the contrary though, Beca can't help but to melt at the sight of Tank recognizing Chloe's voice through the line. She can tell by the extreme wag to his tail and small whine every so often as his mouth opens that Tank is more than excited.

" _Speaking of Tank, I saw the funniest thing of you two on People's magazine."_

Figuring that Chloe was done talking to Tank either way since the dog is now crashed on Beca's couch, she switches her phone off of speaker and repositions it back to her ear. "Oh yeah? What was it?"

" _Hollywood's most talented music producer takes a break away from the studio to walk her dog on a lovely afternoon in Atlanta Georgia."_ Beca listens to Chloe as it seems like the girl is reading straight from the magazine itself. The specific day the magazine is talking about is a little foggy, taking that she has walked Tank every day while Chloe was at work since she has moved here and she also didn't see any paparazzi during her walk. Maybe the stealth way is how they get pictures in Atlanta rather than the stalking and yelling and harassing. " _I don't know if they got it right though. From what I can see it looks like Tank is the one walking you."_

Now Beca remembers what day this was.

It was Monday evening after a full day of unpacking and getting things together in her new house. Chloe had been scheduled to work a little bit later to grade for her classes and Beca decided that some outside time away from boxes would be nice, if not dire, and what better walking partner who brings great company other than Tank?

"It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't buy a horse for a dog," Beca battles back with; her height self esteem and ability to handle an animal only taking minimal damage as Chloe continues to laugh about this so called candid, magazine photo that she has still yet to be seen.

" _Adopted, first of all_ ," Chloe corrects about a half hour later, it feels like, once she is done giggling and Beca can hear the beeping sound of her truck going off through the other line. " _And second, you love Tank and all the size he has to bring. Tell me not that you don't enjoy being cuddled up with him during the night, a little more than me, I might add."_

Beca can't even defend herself at this point because she has just been caught red handed. What can she say, Chloe has changed her into quite the cuddler and Tank is big to cover all of her and then some. "He's warm."

" _But I'm warm too,"_ Chloe's pout can basically be heard through the phone. " _And I tickle your back every time before you fall asleep and run my nails through your hair when you wake up."_

Beca shudders; those little things are so true and so her weakness when it involves spending the night with Chloe. "You do, and I love you for that."

" _Yeah yeah, whatever."_

Walking up stairs to her room that is completely finished and organized, Beca picks up the picture frame sitting on her dresser from her birthday that Chloe made for her, hanging it up across from where her bed is in the pretty position to see every picture and every word. Beca smiles pleased; there is stuff needed to be added to their timeline from only the past month, including Christmas in Tampa, graduation for Chloe and New Year's Eve. Even on her dresser is a few framed pictures of the many various taken she had blown up from her phone; the best of the best involving her and Chloe. Her house is coming together; it is starting to feel homey.

" _Well I'm on my way home from work. I was thinking about stopping by your house and then we can go from there?"_

A pleasant sigh is the last thing Beca does before heading back down the stairs to the living room where she takes a squat next to Tank sleeping on the couch. "Yeah that works. I totally forgot to mention and half kinda forgot but my dad and Sheila wanted to do dinner."

" _Oh that's right!"_ Chloe chirps with all her excitement left in the open. Beca forgot that the last time Chloe and her dad met was during Christmas when all of them briefly all got together to chat before him and Sheila left for vacation. He was going to go to Chloe's graduation, as well, but graduation for the University he worked at happened to be going on during the same time period and was unable to. " _I'd love to go to dinner! How exciting!"_

Beca smiles warmly, patting Tank on the stomach and soon rolls her eyes once he switches to lay on his back, stomach up and in the open for her to rub. "How was your day?" She took this time to study her new house while Chloe explained her highs and lows during work; one of Beca's most favorite things to listen to.

It's crazy honestly. Going from living in a shared apartment with your best friend to owning your very first house by yourself. Bills are going to start coming in the mail, cleaning rituals are going to have to be set, everything is done by herself. She honestly doesn't know whether it's something to be more proud or scared shitless of.

Adulting.

 _Holy shit_ , she's an actual adult.

" _I can pretty much hear the bolts turning in your head, babe,"_ Chloe chuckles and it comes out a bit on the worried side. Beca snaps out of her trance on the various items that complete her house; the pictures, the vases, the TV set up perfectly smack middle of the living room. " _What's on your mind?"_

The fact that Chloe always knew whether it was the smallest or biggest thing taking up Beca's mind to make her unbalanced is something…..too good for words. "I just…" Beca starts, ending with a heavy sigh, but can't seem to land on the perfect words to represent how she feels. It's nothing bad-it's so far from being bad. This new feeling is something _great_ , which is leaving her speechless to explain anything to anyone else who isn't inside her head.

" _Kinda getting slapped in the face with reality?"_ And of course, Chloe is able to snatch the words straight from Beca's head and form them to explain exactly how she feels, just like she always does.

Beca answers in a hum, followed by a breathy laugh with a shake to her head because she can't help but feel a little pathetic. She's suppose to be indestructible, nothing, and she means _nothing_ should affect her. So, this little deal that has her stunned out of words, but also something she can't help but be ecstatic about as confusing as confusing gets.

" _I'm super proud of you rockstar,"_ Chloe assures clearly and so genuine Beca's heart starts to clench. It's all she says, though, and Beca is positive that it's all she needs to hear because she feels her body lifting, with nothing weighing her down.

"I love you," Beca responds with, resting her head back against the top of the couch to look up at the ceiling and covering most of her face because she feels way too giddy to control. "Hurry up. I wanna see you."

" _You betcha, buttercup."_

* * *

_**Sunday February 12, 8:23 PM** _

_Dad: You and Chloe looked beautiful tonight, Beca. I'm so very proud of you and so is Sheila. I know you're probably out celebrating but I just wanted to let you know before I go to sleep. Mom would be so proud of you. Congrats on the Grammy's, Becs._

_**Sunday February 12, 11:23 PM** _

**B: Thank you Dad. I know she would, I just wish she was here right now. Tell Sheila I said thanks too and I'll call you tomorrow morning when it's not 3.**

_***New Message From Stacie Conrad*** _

_S: OH MY GOD BECA! I don't know if you're at the after party or what but I'm so fucking proud of you! Best new artist!_

**B: Just got back actually. We didn't stay for too long. But thank you Stace, it's really fucking crazy :-)**

_S: Damn right it is! Seeing you up there, being awkward like always and giving a real life speech, I'm here to admit I cried like a baby..._

_S: I balled my eyes out!_

**B: Not gonna lie I cried too. Especially when I saw Chloe crying.**

_***New message, Group Chat with Diplo & Selena*** _

_Selena: Congrats tonight you both! I'm so bummed I couldn't be there to accept the award for our album!_

**B: Missed you tonight, nerd.**

_Diplo: For sure! But you're out performing at iheart radio so that's something to be hyped about!_

_Selena: I wish I could see you two before you leave B._

_Diplo: Don't worry, she'll be back. I'm hosting a party before we kick off our tour and I'm expecting you to stop by._

**B: Damn right Haha**

**B: Plus you're performing with us for our first tour date.**

_Selena: That's right!_

_Selena: Miss you both so much! :(_

**B: Miss you two losers too.**

_***2 New Messages From Stacie Conrad*** _

_S: Awe! Precious!_

_S: You two on the red carpet were seriously the show stoppers, jaw droppers at the Staples Center. You both looked gorgeousssss. I wish I could've made it :(_

**B: Thank you! And thank you to your cousin because she has an eye for dressing people up haha**

**B: But it's all good Stace. You took Aubrey to meet your freaking family! How cool is that?**

_S: Yeah I guess :) but not as cool as winning two Grammys! I can't believe Diplo won too for best new album!_

**B: Chloe said she called it haha**

**B: But enough about me, how was Portland? Momma Conrad good?**

_S: It is a lot of fun! And yes, she's good and already adores Aubrey :)_

_S: She said congrats too by the way!_

**B: Tell her I said thanks :-)**

**B: Can't believe the both of you got time always from the books. Never thought that would happen**

_***2 New Messages From Aubrey Posen*** _

_A: Congratulations on the awards midget._

_A: :)_

**B: You're so sweet ;-)**

**B: But thank you. Congrats on tying down the infamous Stacie Conrad. Try not to get caught boning each other at the parent's house ;-)**

_A: Har har._

_***New Message From Stacie Conrad*** _

_S: Trust me, this comes once in a blue moon._

**B: Such nerds ;-)**

_S: Well I'll let you go! I bet you are exhausted. You and Chloe have anything planned for the rest of the night?_

**B: Not that I know of. She's showering and I'm getting us ice cream at the front desk haha**

_S: Nice! Well behave you two….or not ;)_

_S: You deserve a wild night_

**B: Yeah yeah, we will see**

**B: Love and miss you, Stace. Enjoy the rest of your time with momma Conrad and Aubrey. Tell her I said hello!**

_S: Love you too munchkin and I will!_

At the little gift shop place near the front desk of the hotel, Beca buys two pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream; one delicious cherry garcia and peanut butter chip. Up at the register she pays for the items, luckily this hotel isn't too on the fancy side and they still sell these items instead of caviar on crackers.

Once everything is paid for and her image isn't noticed by the few people that still happened to be up this late at night, she is standing patiently in the elevator when her phone goes off.

_***Chloe Beale Has Tagged You in a Photo on Instagram*** _

" _Even a two time Grammy winner treats me like a Princess. If there was an award for best girlfriend, xxdjBMitchie would win it by a landslide. I love you, superstar!"_

Beca grins widely at the photo that most definitely was taken of the both of them during their walk on the red carpet. It's a perfect candid shot of her kneeling down to fix the strap on one of Chloe's heels that happened to unsnap and she is just laughing and it's so laid back and they're having a blast. Chloe has a megawatt smile of her face that's brighter than the flashes taken behind them from the crowd and her cheeks have a hint of pink to them that Beca thinks is the cutest fucking thing in the world.

After liking the photo and staring at it with a manic type of smile, she didn't realize that she missed her floor to her hotel room being too engrossed in the photo and is back in the lobby. Repeating the previous steps to make it to her room, she uses the key card to open the door and her knees almost buckle to a fall when she is greeted with Chloe, who has wet hair from the shower, wearing baggy Barden t-shirt and a pair of spandex to cover as she lays down listen to music for the hotel dock, just staring at her with every ounce of love a person can humanly hold and she has still yet to see something more beautiful than that.

She may have won two special awards earlier tonight but the one prize she cherishes the most is the one she was gifted back in August with when she first met such an amazing person on the internet.

That ladies and gents is an award unbeatable.

* * *

_**Tuesday February 14, 8:35 PM (Georgia Time)**_

"Alright cutie," Chloe chirps, hands occupied by a freshly popped bowl of extra buttered popcorn and is accompanied with two unopened Mikes Hard Lemonades. She wears a sly smirk all the way from where she came out of the kitchen till she reaches the couch and plops down right next to Beca. "Sixth sleepover we've had in a row. You sick of me yet?"

Beca cranes her neck to the side in time to catch Chloe staring back at her, smile bright, crooked and just so very Chloe. Stealing a piece of popcorn from the bowl sitting in Chloe's lap, she pops the piece into her mouth, chewing it whole. "Nah," she responds in between chews. "I think I'll keep you around. Who else would make me popcorn?"

"I'm here for _you_ , baby," Chloe cooes with a wink and does the honor this time in feeding Beca the next piece of popcorn the girl reaches for. She also swings in for a kiss; her lips lingering a little bit longer to savor the buttery taste on Beca's tongue and breaks away once she's had enough.

"Can you believe this?" Chloe asks, tilting her head on the backrest of the couch so she is still facing Beca, who happens to be caught in a daze after the shared kiss. Beca hums, wondering what Chloe is referring to. "You finally settled in Georgia after the move, almost a month in. You have a Grammy under your belt for with many more to come and are going on tour for the very first time at the start of May. Now you're working with a young and talented new artist at Residual while in the process of producing your very own album. It's crazy," she lists and her voices raises in a breathless way that Beca can tell she is more than proud of all her accomplishments.

"Show the love to yourself a little bit why don't cha," Not one to turn down some sweet talk from Chloe, Beca switches the spotlight over to her girlfriend because she knows she deserves it with all that she's done. Plus Beca loves smothering Chloe with compliments because in return she gets those big blue eyes staring back at her, so full of passion and looks so darn cute. God, seeing Chloe happy is and will always be her aesthetic. "You just graduated in December with a Masters degree and have been positioned a full time job at the school you student teach at. You're kind of a big shot."

"Just kind of?" Chloe curves one of those smirks that really only Beca can respond with is a kiss. So, that's what she does, and she places delicate kisses along Chloe's jaw bone until she reaches a ticklish spot on the redhead's neck and the squirming Chloe ends up doing only pushes Beca more to continue this action.

When she retracts her lips from Chloe's neck, Beca continues, making sure Chloe is paying full attention to what she is about to say, switching her language from playful to serious.

"You have seriously proven yourself to be the best damn music teacher in all of Atlanta, and I'm not just saying this because you're my girlfriend and it's my duty to tell you these things on the daily. I'm telling you because it's one hundred and one percent true." Chloe's cheeks start to blush, turing a pink rosy color and because of this, she lowers her head with a timid smile, avoiding Beca's strong stare. "I snatched me a good one," she finishes with a smile so uncharacteristic but really, she can't find it in her to care because the smile she is returned with from Chloe is one to light up the darkest of days.

"I think you're my soulmate," Chloe admits and Beca can catch the slight flinch of shyness that came with saying this. "I've talked to my mom about this, many times before. I just...you make me feel things that I never thought I'd be able to feel. Not even Paul, though our relationship was strong could make me feel as happy as you do."

Beca doesn't know what to say to this because it seems like Chloe just took the words right from her thoughts. She hasn't been in a strong relationship before, Hell even one that got to the point of exchanging "I love you's," except for that one time with that one girl who shall not be mentioned.

At first, it was scary feeling all these overwhelming emotions when it came to Chloe. She thought she was sick or something because she has never felt so... _electric_ when talking to a person before. But as she became more familiar with all these feelings and they doon didn't scare her anymore, she allowed herself to believe that Chloe, as well, was the person she could end up spending the rest of her life with.

And still to this day, she thinks the exact same thing.

Beca hovers her hand across the side of Chloe's face, thumb brushing against her cheek bone. "You've taught me a lot over the last couple of months, like, to get over my fear of performing to an audience that happens to not be my mother. Also, you taught me how to use emoticons, text without using my eyes and pretty much become a cat with my nocturnal sleep schedule." Chloe laughs watery and Beca sweeps up the few tears rolling down her cheek before falling. "But most importantly you taught me how to love. Before you came along, I was destined that there was no such thing out there. Then I got a glimpse of a cute little redhead and _bam_...it's like cupid struck me in the left cheek with an arrow."

"I love you so much, Beca. To the point where it's not even scary anymore. It's reassuring and safe," Chloe whispers quietly and there's a shake to her voice that clenches at Beca's heart.

"I love you too...and I'm _positive_ that you're my soulmate," Beca repeats and soaks in the beautiful curve from Chloe's mouth she is returned with.

Nothing is said except for the exchange of sickly sweet smiles where their nose are touching and Beca's hands are trailing over the smoothness of Chloe's thigh. Their eyes don't break their intense stare and Chloe's hands drift to the back of Beca's neck where her fingers twirl the baby curl of hair under her ponytail. Stealing one last and short kiss unknowingly, Chloe quickly stands up to her feet and heads for the kitchen without a real reason as to why.

Beca's eyes follow Chloe from the moment she stands all the way into the kitchen where she returns moments later with a unopened bottle of Patron silver replacing that half empty wine bottle. There's a peppy bounce to her step; her tiny sleep shorts barely covering anything and giving Beca the full view of her golden, muscular legs while she sports up top Beca's previously owned black and white flannel, her most prized possession. And for a moment, Beca has to stop and ask herself, is this what heaven looks like? Being trapped in a house with two pets and her girlfriend, three people she loves the most?

The answer is yes, and nothing she is sure can out beat this moment.

Chloe plops back down beside Beca, leaving zero space between where their legs brush up together. Beca's focus changes from Chloe to the new bottle on the coffee table and she turns back to Chloe suspiciously but is met with only a devilish smirk that bubbles her stomachs with excitement.

"Wanna get drunk?" Chloe suggests-well kind of suggests. It more sounds like she's telling Beca that they're about to get drunk and there is no way out of it. But honestly, Beca is so down to let loose for the night, even though she works tomorrow and would no doubt regret it by morning when her brain feels like it's about to burst.

"And then we can," Chloe dangles kittenish and her fingers move to play with the flaps of Beca's unbuttoned flannel. "You know," and then the way she bites her bottom lip jolts a new life in Beca she thinks at how insanely sexy this girl next to her is. "Kick it?"

Chloe's shrug after saying this is so not innocent as Beca knows exactly what she is hovering towards. She smirks devilish at the bottle on the table, mentally going over her schedule and plans she has set up for tomorrow morning. Nothing too big is happening, other than studio time with Nicholas, her new eighteen year old, inspired pop artist that is blowing her away with the set of pipes the kid has, but that's about it.

It's also Valentine's Day; their first Valentine's Day together, so getting drunk and maybe some other stuff is required on such a romantic night. Usually, and still even today, Beca doesn't understand the point of the holiday and why it gets so much attention when it definitely shouldn't. Every day someone who loves someone else should show how much they love each other, not just once a month. They should cherish what they have while they have it; she does with Chloe, knowing that she has experienced the worse without her and never wants to experience that feeling again.

But this time around, the day feels different, and she can't help but feel electric, in a way, showing off her one of a kind valentine to the internet world and going out and being able to spoil Chloe with her favorite chocolates, flowers and whatever gift that catches her eyes. Most of the time she's out buying Chloe stuff just for the Hell of it because she loves her. This time it's a new feeling being able to share this day with someone who means the world to her.

"What do you say?" Chloe snaps Beca out of her admiration to which she didn't even really realize she zoned out. "Never have I ever gone skinny dipping." She giggles shyly and before Beca can even reply in disgust at another childish game to play, her shirt is off and throw somewhere around the living room. Blind sighted by this action, Beca can only stare like a teenage boy in middle school. "And you have a hot tub."

The insinuation is there; Beca can gather without even looking, or paying full attention to Chloe's sinful tone as her eyes are focused on way more important things right now, _two_ things, if she's being honest. And once the bra that was under Chloe's newly absent shirt is unhooked and sliding down the girl's biceps, she is off from her spot on the couch with the bottle of alcohol placed firmly in her hand as she bolts for the backyard where a empty jacuzzi is calling their names.

* * *

_**Friday February 16 2019, 2:56 AM (Two years later, California time)** _

_You can be my guiding light  
Keep me company in the night._

_That's all I need, all I want is for you to stay a little longer now. With arms around me, Like a border  
Like the air I breathe, I let you in. Keep me warm underneath my skin,_

_'Cause I'm giving in to your touch. I can never get enough Dive in deep into the ocean_

Beca listens to her track one more time through her laptop set up neatly above one of those hotel desk and dangles a new and very fancy pair of beats headphones around her neck. It's pretty late in Los Angeles where she is and currently has being staying for the past few days for a scheduled Ellen show appearance, almost hitting three in the morning.

These past couple years for Beca has achieved many opportunities thrown her way, including talk shows she has only dreamed of staring in, working with a variety of new artists at Residual and gave them the opportunity to make it big in the industry with her knowledge, as well as theirs. Once that was finished and the hype was subsiding, she was able to take some time off away from music in general to spend the summer in the Bahamas with Chloe, also known as paradise, she can agree with, to soak up the sun, drink margaritas on the beach, whether it was during the morning, afternoon or night of the day.

And now, as she is currently tweaking the tracks to near perfection through her laptop sitting in front of her, she has also been given the chance to get a head start on producing her very own album that fans have only been going berserk over since the first reveal of her own personal, hand written song.

She uploads the album, does all that fancy stuff accompanied with it until she has successfully uploaded the tracks to iTunes and Spotify. Closing her laptop shut, not wanting to deal with the hype from her fans this late at night, she head to the bathroom of the hotel and gets ready for bed. She didn't plan on staying up this late. Half was because she couldn't sleep with her nerves bouncing around her body like pop rocks at the realization she'll be on Ellen tomorrow….well today. Also the lack of sleep came from missing Valentine's Day since she was busy traveling to California, so that settled uneasy in her stomach as she wanted to spend the time with Chloe.

As she is finishing up her night time routine, she sees that she hasn't turned off the notifications on her phone and a single Tumblr message lights up on her screen. Instantly wondering who could be up at this early or late hour, she should've expected it to be the one girl who has a habit of waking up at an insanely early time without any explanation.

 _ **Bella4lyfe** _ _,_

_Hi there! Playing owl again Ms. Mitchell? ;) Just wanted to drop a message by and say that I just downloaded your new album and first of all, I absolutely LOVE it. Already have every track set to my ipod, ready for my workout tomorrow morning while I think about how incredibly talented my girlfriend is with her seven Grammys won already (don't tell her tho) ;) Anyways, still a VERY big fan of yours and even till this day, one amazing 2 years and seven months, you never cease to amaze me with the music you create. I can't say it enough but I'm so very proud of you Beca._

_Why don't you stop working so hard and pick up your phone ;)_

_Xoxo,_

_Chloe Beale_

It's not too much of a shock that this message brings Beca's body to the maximum of warmness she can undergo. It warps her back to square one; the beginning when Beca was just a nobody studying music at a University, making mediocre beats on her computer for the Hell of it, not really thinking people out there really gave a damn about her music, but then Chloe comes along with a message, similar to this one, and from that moment where Beca was shitting her pants on how to message this girl back, everything in her life changed completely.

Without so much of a warning, her phone goes off again; this time with a text message, and Beca really just want to scream face first into a pillow like a teenage girl with pure joy when she sees that it's Chloe texting her.

_**Saturday February 17, 3:30 AM** _

_C: Good morning baby :)_

**B: Speaking of the devil… ;-)**

**B: I love the Tumblr message you sent. Creativity though is a little flat ;-)**

_C: I have no idea what you're talking about…._

_C: Wanna play twenty questions and refresh my memory? ;)_

**B: Yeah I'll start. How did I get so lucky and why are you so perfect in every little way possible?**

_C: I can ask you that same question, Mitchell :)_

_C: I snatched me a good one I must say!_

**B: Ditto :-)**

**B: You like the album?**

_C: I love it! Really, your writing is something else. It's surprising that you didn't start earlier with all that secret talent you had in your back pocket lol_

_C: Though I am a little disappointed that I barely got any private sessions from you :(_

**B: Haha that's because whenever I do give you those private sessions, it usually ends with our clothes off, which is seconds into the track, leaving me with zero progress into the song I'm working on.**

_C: I can't help that your voice….does things to me, baby :( It's my kryptonite!_

**B: Trust me, I know ;-) if not by the hungry glare in your eyes, it's most definitely the uncontrollable writhing in your seat while you listen**

_C: Hush ;)_

_C: Tha album really is great though! It's nice you got a few tracks with Selena and Diplo on there! Lord knows those two miss you like crazy_

**B: Oh God…. I know! I miss those losers too. But Selena is getting ready for her new album, which I already know is going to have some bangers. Roger has that one and the guy is a mastermind when it comes to producing.**

_C: YOUR album has some bangers :)_

_C: Invitation might just be my new lady jam ;)_

**B: Oh yeah?**

**B: Do I get a private showing of this, taking that I made the song?**

_C: Maybe when you get home, or if you're lucky, late tonight ;)_

**B: Tease**

_C: That doesn't sound like something someone should say if they're trying to get into their girlfriend's pants ;)_

**B: Whatever ;-)**

_C: Back on track though, I thought you were releasing it next Friday, or that's what you said Keegan wanted._

**B: Yeah but you know me. I never follow the rules.**

**B: But thanks :-) but I didn't feel as passionate with my writing before until I met you. When I did, all of a sudden a shit ton of sappy words and love sayings filled my head with endless ideas for songs.**

_C: Oh is that so?_

_C: Are you trying to tell me I'm the reason behind this treasure of an album? ;)_

**B: Guilty.**

**B: You're something amazing Chlo. I don't feel like I tell you that enough.**

_C: You don't feel like multiple times a day, every day isn't enough? I don't think my heart will be able to take anymore compliments from you without it exploding. I'm honestly surprised I'm alive today ;)_

**B: Well hopefully you're full of unlimited lives because there's no way I'm gonna stop :-)**

**B: What are you doing up so early? This time you don't have the class excuse since you're long graduated haha**

**B: Grandma ;-)**

_C: Shush! 29 is not old, jerk :(_

**B: But….**

**B: You're almost….**

_C: DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT BECA MITCHELL!_

**B: 30…**

**B: Damn, the word really just rolls off the tongue...**

_C: BECAAAAA :(_

_C: I'm breaking up with you._

**B: Haha!**

**B: No you're not. I just wrote an entire album for you :-( Plus, you couldn't get rid of me even if you tried.**

_C: Whatever :( You're lucky I love you so much._

**B: And I love you, grey hair, walker, denchers and all ;-)**

_C: OMG stopppppppppppppp :(_

_C: And to answer your question, I'm taking Tank out for an early walk. It's nice and breezy outside right now and he has been jumping around the bed all morning trying to get me up._

**B: How is my boy?**

**B: And girl?**

**B: And other girl? Haha**

_C: Tank and Buttercup are good, they miss you though. Just like their momma :(_

_C: Home isn't the same without you here_

**B: I've only been gone two days.**

**B: You didn't burn the house down right?**

_C: No I haven't, ass ;) And FYI, I've gotten a lot better at my cooking!_

**B: Thanks to moi ;-)**

**B: And our weekly binge watch of Food Network**

_C: Oh yeah! That's my favorite night :)_

_C: And our wine nights watching Games of Thrones :D_

**B: Every night spent with you is my favorite.**

_C: Really? I've been a good roommate?_

**B: The best**

**B: But that can change, who knows. 2 years ain't nothing ;-)**

_C: Well if you haven't broken up with me yet, chances are you won't and if you do, good luck trying to get rid of me :)_

**B: Well ain't it just a blessing that that won't happen because I love you way too much. There's too much history between us just to go to waste.**

_C: True :)_

_C: I still remember our first date! It's was honestly so romantic. Who knew Beca Mitchell had it in her to sweep me literally of my feet ;)_

**B: Fuck, that night almost gave me an aneurysm.**

**B: I had to call Stacie multiple times in attempt to calm me down.**

_C: I could so tell! You being nervous is like seeing a white sheep in a herd of black. Still very adorable though ;)_

**B: Haha I know. I've gotten better right?**

_C: The last time I've seen you nervous was meeting my grandparents at graduation lol_

_C: Which by the way, I'm positive they like you more than they like me!_

**B: I mean, can you blame them? ;-)**

_C: Oh hush. I see you're still as modest as the first time we talked ;)_

**B: God, it feels like years ago. I still remember having a panic attack about meeting you the first time in Georgia because Stacie poisoned my head thinking you were a catfish**

_C: What?!_

_C: You never told me this! You said you wanted to skype because it would take some of the pressure off of meeting for the first time!_

**B: Oh shit that's right…**

_C: You thought I was a catfish?! :(_

**B: Well, not before Stacie got it stuck in my head I could be talking to some forty year old dude.**

_C: I've talked to you on the phone! After the times you butt dialed me, so unless I sound like a total man on the phone, how could you have thought that?!_

**B: Technology these days are impressive, Chlo. I've seen Dateline and I couldn't help but be a little paranoid…**

**B: But you don't sound like a man, you sound very beautiful on the phone :-)**

_C: Nice try -_-_

_C: But I guess I can't be too upset. Aubrey did the same thing to me, but you were pretty famous around YouTube so it didn't last for long._

**B: How is Aubrey? I'm stopping by after the show today. Stacie demands updates on my life though I talk to her every day**

**B: Guess her Master classes are draining her brain dry haha**

_C: So jealous Stacie is basically a genius smarty. Her and Aubrey both are going to be millionaires._

_C: But Aubrey's good! It's actually weirdly frightening to see her so happy with Stacie. I can't believe we called that they would be perfect together!_

_C: I never thought they'd follow through with it lol_

**B: We are pretty good match makers ;-)**

**B: Did you see they got a freaking pig!?**

_C: Oh I know! Cute little Sparky :D I can't wait to finally be able to see him. He's soooooo cute!_

_C: Please FaceTime me tomorrow when you see them!_

_C: Or today..._

**B: Duh :-)**

**B: I honestly think they're just fattening him up so them can cook him later. Talk about an abundance of bacon. They'd never have to go shopping again.**

_C: Beca!_

_C: That's awful! Lol what a nice aunt you are!_

**B: I'm just kidding haha**

**B: But love the sarcasm, so sexy ;-)**

**B: With the amount of posts from the both of them through snapchat, no way is that pig going to get a scratch on its nose without the world seeming like it's about to end.**

_C: It's the same with Tank, Buttercup and you!_

**B: Even you Haha**

**B: The amount of photos I have with you in my phone is gnarly**

_C: Because I'm so cute ;)_

**B: Can't go against that :-)**

**B: How's walking?**

_C: Pretty good! Tank is running around right now._

_C: How's the hotel? I bet super fancy. You order room service?_

**B: Earlier tonight, yes Haha**

**B: And at pretty damn nice. Being in LA again is bittersweet. I missed the weather for sure, I don't sweat my skin off every time I walk outside that's for sure. But most of me misses Georgia.**

_C: Well Georgia misses you too, same with me :)_

_C: It's still crazy to think that we met online._

**B: Which is probably why I'm writing a book about it…**

_C: Excuse me?_

_C: Beca!_

_C: You're writing a book?!_

**B: Surprise Haha**

**B: But yes I am. I ran it by my publicist and Cassidy was all for it. Been writing it for a while now and actually it's almost done.**

_C: How did I not know this?! I share a bed with you every night!_

_C: What's it about?!_

**B: Us, duh ;-)**

_C: Okay ass ;)_

_C: I meant the specifics!_

**B: Just our journey on how we met and survived a long distance relationship. Long distance gets a bad rep because people don't treat them the right way and is very common. Look at high school seniors and going to college, for example. They don't know the components in keeping a relationship healthy and resort to figuring it will never work out. I want to show people that even though someone you love may live across the country or even world, a relationship between two people regardless of the distance isn't doomed.**

**B: And ours, with all the obstacles in the way we faced, is a perfect example of an experimental thing for both of us turning into something beautiful and permanent.**

_C: Awe Becs.._

_C: I'm so glad I'm texting you right now because you'd so make fun of how I'm currently crying at the park while texting this message._

_C: What's the name of the book?_

**B: 2000 Miles**

_C: From Georgia to Los Angeles_

**B: Exactly :-)**

_C: God, I'm such a mess! Is there anything you can't do?!_

_C: Next thing you'll drop on me is that you're starring in a action movie like the new Ice Cube!_

**B: Oh about that, I've talked to my manager…**

_C: Seriously!?_

**B: Nah I'm just kidding ;-) maybe next year**

_C: You're such a pain in the ass!_

_C: But my pain in the ass :)_

**B: I love you baby**

**C: I love you too :)**

Writing a book wasn't Beca's initial plan after she got done producing her album. The idea came about when she started to receive messages on her social media accounts from her fans asking for advice if they were stuck with some problems involving long distance. Knowing she and Chloe's relationship was sort of looked up to amongst a bunch of different people, an anomaly, which they received a lot of, she felt like she could help in a way from experience.

She could be the first to say and raise her hand up high that she was one who thought long distance relationships where a big bag of bullshit and a waste of everyone's time. Hell, someone going through this doesn't get the same advantages as someone who can see their partner everyday and be physically with them whenever they want. No one wants to go through the dreadful pain of missing someone every second of every day just hoping that next month, or the month after that they'll finally be able to meet with the person they love.

Being in a long distance relationship is hard; it's really fucking hard. There's certain things a person has to excel at and things they aren't able to do, like cuddle, kiss, or even a simple hug. But what Beca wants to say and let everyone know is that the physical part of a relationship may be a large part of making a the relationship work.

But is it the most important?

No, absolutely not.

And when you find that one person you'd bend over backwards for, the physical portion isn't the part that you start to crave and simply, it's just being able to hear their voice after a long day. Everything else starts to become less important and if you truly care about this person, distance, no matter how far, won't be such a big deal.

When Beca's mom passed away, she was certain that she'd never be happy again and most definitely didn't think she'd ever sing again, or at least in front of people that is. Days were spent moping around; the grieving stages just never ending it seemed like. It was Chloe who brought some hope, happiness and light to her life, making her realize that even though it might not seem like it, life goes on and should be spent with a purpose because at any moment, it could all be taken right from under you.

A lot has happened between them during the couple years they've been together. When one door closes, another one opens, Beca soon discovered as the months passed during her and Chloe's relationship. Yes, the _need_ to be physically close to Chloe became unbearable the longer she was in the long distance relationship and this is hypocritical against what she is trying to get through to people. But without the dire need to be close to Chloe, she doesn't think she'd ever be able to admit it out loud. It was a brutal push in the right direction, and though it fucking sucked those months alone without her girlfriend; the ride was truly one Hell of a rollercoaster, she now can now say they've only just started their own story to a fairy tale ending.

_C: I miss you so much_

**B: I miss you too, but I'm just glad that I get to come home to you instead of waiting months talking through the phone or computer screen**

_C: Oh same! You'd think I'd be use to not seeing you for a while without missing you too much taking that I spent months missing you._

_C: Guess you can say I'm greedy ;)_

**B: That you are, Ms. Beale**

_C: Hey now._

_C: It's soon to be Mrs. Mitchell, so live up this nickname while you can, fiancee ;)_

And oh yeah.

That happened too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:  
> Pussycat Dolls- Buttons  
> N'sync- Bye Bye Bye  
> Major Lazor & DJ Snake- Lean On (CRNKN Remix)  
> Call Me Maybe- Carly Rae Jepsen  
> Ed Sheeran- Give Me Love  
> Revolution- Diplo  
> Where are U Now- Skrillex, Diplo & Justine Bieber  
> The 1975- Robbers  
> One Dance- Drake  
> Uptown Girl- Billy Joel  
> Won't Go Home Without You- Maroon 5  
> The Chainsmokers ft Halsey-Closer  
> Hotline- Pretty Ricky  
> This Is Halloween- Nightmare Before Christmas  
> Cold Water- Major Lazor & Justin Bieber  
> Troye Sivan- WILD  
> Cashmere Cat feat. Selena Gomez- Trust Nobody  
> The Chainsmokers- All We Know  
> Yellowclaw- Invitation  
> Mike Perry- The Ocean


End file.
